


Vortex

by CricketClover



Category: Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco, Twenty One Pilots, Young Veins
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Cheating, Emo, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Gay, High School, Homophobia, M/M, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 18:48:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 19
Words: 28,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28658226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CricketClover/pseuds/CricketClover
Summary: Frank has been dating his girlfriend for a while but feels kind of confused about their whole relationship and where it is heading. Everything changes when he is invited to have dinner with her family and meets her strange brother, Gerard. He can't seem to forget about the boy whose entire existence seems erased and censored in the family.
Relationships: Frank Iero/Gerard Way
Comments: 9
Kudos: 42





	1. The Prologue

Frank rolled his eyes for what seemed like the thousandth time that day. His girlfriend, Emma, although he loved her dearly, was really getting on his nerves. She kept walking right behind him as he tried his best to maneuver himself to his locker.

"So it's six. You can't be late, okay? This is very important for us." Emma had been repeating those same words all morning as he silently opened up his locker and threw in his books before loudly smashing it closed. "Are you even listening to me, Frank?"

Emma seemed pissed off now, her foot angrily stopping on the tiles below her, and he didn't really know what else to do, so he shot her a crooked smile despite the growing headache throbbing in his skull.

"Of course I am, babe." Frank nodded violently, almost giving himself whiplash trying to look convincing. "Six o'clock at your house. I'll make sure to dress nice." He probably knew all of Emma's rules by now. He had her whole endless speech memorized by heart. At the same time, how could he not? She's been repeating it for the last three weeks.

"Yes, exactly." Emma seemed pleasantly surprised by the attention he paid to her words and smiled proudly. "You know this is important right, Frank?" She made sure to give him her most serious and worried look, almost begging with her eyes for him to not mess this up completely.

"Yes, yes, I know, Emma." He swung my backpack over his shoulder and finally made eye contact with his girlfriend. "I'll try my best to leave a good first impression. I want to make sure your family likes me, so I'll be on my best behavior." Frank promised.

"I just want them to love you as much as I do, that's all." Emma sighed, putting her hand on her boyfriend's arm, softly squeezing it to remove some of the tension. This made him relax a bit, she only wanted this to go as smoothly as possible. "You know I worry a lot..."

"It's fine, babe." He pecked her on the forehead, making her look overjoyed. "Don't worry about it."

"Okay, I trust you." She nodded, giving him an honest smile.

"I've gotta go now, my mom's expecting me." He lied, inching away from his girlfriend, still trying to keep that friendly smile on his face. It hurt his cheeks to do this every single day.

"Alright, see you tonight then." Emma broke out into an even bigger smile, hugging him tightly before jumping away. "Don't forget: six o'clock." She reminded him, walking off home.

Frank blew out all the air in his lungs and took in a fresh new breath, walking in the opposite direction of Emma.

Was this all really a good idea? Sure, he loved his girlfriend a lot, but was now a good time to meet her family and stay over for dinner? He wasn't so sure. He didn't exactly have a great feeling about today.

Emma was a lovely girl whom he loved very much, but she also had this quite irritating side to her personality that was able to make his skin crawl.

Either way, he decided to suck it up, get home, and get ready for six o'clock.


	2. An Encounter

With music blasting through his earphones, Frank walked up the stairs of his house, a content smile creeping onto his face as he finally reached his room. However, when his bedroom door opened, he frowned, ripping out his earphones and quickly trying to lower the volume to mute.

"Patrick? What are you doing here?" Frank let his backpack fall off his shoulder onto the floor, right beside his cluttered desk.

"I was done with classes earlier, so I decided to come over," Patrick explained, grinning as he looked up at Frank from his own bed. The dark-haired boy still had his brow furrowed, wondering why his best friend would even show up like this. But then again, it wouldn't be the first time. "Your mom told me to wait in your room."

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, bud, but you need to leave." He sighed, stumbling to his closet, in an almost zombie-like state. He was already dreading this entire visit.

"So soon? But you just got here." Patrick complained behind him, still laying on the bed, fumbling with the bottom of the shirt he was wearing. "I thought we could maybe grab something to eat and hang out since it's Friday."

"I'd love to... But I can't." Frank looked through his t-shirts, either throwing some behind him or letting them fall to his feet. "I have that dinner thing with Emma's family."

"Shoot. I forgot about that." His friend mumbled, biting his lip.

"Yeah." Frank sighed again, going for a nice black dress shirt with his sophisticated black pants. Should be fine, right? Although Emma always complained about the lack of color in his wardrobe. "Is this good?" He checked with his friend for advice.

"You don't seem too... Happy? Excited?" Patrick cocked his head to the side, confused.

"Is this good?" Frank ignored his question, not in the mood to talk about his relationship issues now. He pushed the outfit in his friend's direction, lifting a brow.

"Sure, I guess." Patrick shrugged, glancing at him. Frank took off his shirt and put on the nice black one he picked for the dinner. "What's going on with you, Frank?" Patrick noticed his obvious nerves and anger.

"Nothing." He snapped a little too directly, making him regret it the second those words left his mouth. This had nothing to do with Patrick, he shouldn't lash out at him.

"You sure?" Frank quickly put on the pants and fetched a nicer pair of black shoes from under his bed while crouched next to Patrick.

"I'm just not feeling it." He shrugged, sitting on his heels.

"What's wrong? Don't you wanna meet Emma's parents?" His best friend asked, frowning again.

"Of course I want to, just not now. I'm just not feeling it." Frank sighed, putting his feet into his shoes and lacing them correctly. "Ugh, I'll be fine, I'm probably just nervous." He lied. He shouldn't lie, especially not to Patrick, his best friend since they were kids. But he didn't feel like being questioned or to make a big deal out of nothing.

"Oh, you'll be great! I'm sure her parents will adore you, Frank!" Patrick smiled brightly, patting him on the back a couple of times.

"Yeah, it'll be fine." He faked a smile at his friend, trying to make him and himself believe that.

•••

Why was he shaking so damn much? This was getting ridiculous.

With a trembling hand, Frank knocked on the door. Taking in a deep breath as he looked at my watch, 5:55 pm. Perfect. He wasn't really a fan of watches, they kind of lost their purpose with the popularity of the modern cellphone, but this one had a special place in his heart. It had been passed down to him by his paternal grandfather.

"Frank!" Emma opened the door, jumping onto her boyfriend, hugging him tightly by the neck. "You look very nice."

He decided that he should probably compliment her as well and he took a glance at her appearance. She looked pretty, she always did. She was wearing a short red dress, it looked very nice on her. It was tight, but not too much, she kept it sophisticated and classy.

"You look stunning." He grinned, pulling her closer so he could peck her on her blushing cheek.

"Come inside." She gently started to inch her boyfriend into her house, shutting the door behind them.

"Emma?" Someone called, making Frank look up to the voice. "Oh, I see the one and only Frank Iero has arrived."

"Dad." Emma shot her father a warning look.

"Nice to meet you." Her dad smiled, shaking his hand firmly while her mom entered the hallway right behind him.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Way." Frank tried my best to have a convincing smile, and it looked like it worked because her parents kept grinning and gushing over how good looking he apparently was.

Everything went well, yet it all felt wrong somehow. He couldn't really explain it, it was like this warning gut feeling that wouldn't go away the moment they arranged this dinner. He didn't even understand what it meant, it was just a casual meal with his girlfriend's family. Nothing to freak out about, at least not like this.

"You guys can hang out in the living room, dinner isn't ready yet." Mrs. Way said, strutting over to the kitchen with her husband.

"Do you guys need any help?" Emma asked, to which her parents gladly accepted her offer. That left Frank alone on the couch in the living room right after Emma shot him an apologetic look and a soft smile.

He sat there for a while, with a glass of coke that Emma's mom kindly put on the coffee table in front of him. He kept his hands on his thighs, staring ahead of him at the nicely decorated house, rubbing his sweaty palms against the fabric of his pants. He then noticed his shaking fingers. Damn it.

"Frank?" Emma popped her head into the room.

"Yes?"

"Could you go get my brother down for dinner, please?" He nodded at the request, figuring they all had their hands full. "Thank you, babe. He's in his room, second on your right upstairs." And with that, she disappeared back into the kitchen to help with the cooking.

It was a strange request to Frank since he wasn't even aware of the existence of this brother of hers. Since when did Emma have a sibling? She never even mentioned someone else. He always just assumed she was an only child. You'd think he'd know these kinds of things after spending so much time with her.

Frank got up with a sigh, debating whether or not he should just walk out of the house and head home. The steps of the stairs creaked as he went up, walking to the right door, knocking twice.

"Yeah?" He heard a soft voice from the other side, opening the door. 

"Uhm, your parents are calling you for dinner..." Frank quieted down, not sure what else he was supposed to say to this stranger. The boy was sitting at his desk, his back to me, as he was hunched over a paper in front of him, nothing but his red locks visible.

"Thanks, I'll be down in a minute." And with that, Frank just nodded to no one, since the stranger still had his back turned towards him, and left him alone, heading back downstairs.

He entered the kitchen and found Emma and her parents setting the table for dinner. It looked very nice and put together. With the white tablecloth draping over the dark wooden furniture and the fancy plates and cutlery they decided to pull out for this occasion.

"He says he'll be down in a minute." Frank repeated the boy's words to his girlfriend's wondering expression. She mouthed a quick thanks before putting the glasses on the table and plopping down on a chair. Frank copied her and sat down as well.

"Thank you, Frank." Her mom smiled, everyone now sitting together, waiting for the last family member. He obviously didn't know much about Emma's brother, he didn't even know his name and had never seen him. Emma apparently doesn't like to talk about her brother, for some reason. And her family or anyone else barely seems to mention his existence. Weird, Frank thought.

Soon enough, though, a figure appeared in the door frame, making his eyes fly from the tablecloth to the guy entering the room. When their eyes met, his breath caught in his throat. Interesting.


	3. The Dinner

Immediately when Emma's brother entered the room, there was a strange, thick tension in the air. Mrs. Way coughed a little to desperately try to clear a bit of it.

Her brother sat down on the chair next to him, at the end of the table, eyeing his empty plate as he seemingly avoided any sort of eyecontact. Emma's mom started filling everyone's plate with the food she prepared, it smelled absolutely delicious.

"Is that enough, Frank?" She gently smiled, showing him the amount. He nodded as he took the plate from her hands and put it down in front of him.

Once everyone was served, Emma's dad cleared his throat. "How long have you two love birds been together, now?" Emma lovingly stared at her boyfriend for a second before starting her rant.

"Six months next week." She smiling proudly. "But we've known each other for a little while longer than that, haven't we, babe?" Frank smiled at her, as she grabbed his hand tightly beneath the table to comfort him.

"Gerard." Her mom hissed from the side, making Frank involuntarily glance at what was happening. "Just eat the food." He noticed Emma's brother, who apparently is called Gerard, playing with his food, pushing it around his plate.

He barely seemed awake, mindlessly looking at the white surface of the table, staring at nothing, quiet. That kid sure seemed strange.

"Tell me, Frank," Mr. Way started, taking a bite of the food. "What would you like to do in the future?" Frank finally stopped staring at Gerard and focused his attention on Emma's dad, her mom doing the same and leaving her son alone. It was rude of him to stare anyway.

"Uhm." Frank cleared his throat, trying his best not to peek at Gerard from the corner of his eyes. He was still staring at nothing. "I'm not sure, yet. I'm just trying to finish high school, and figure it out along the way. I do love music, though." Gerard looked up at that, seemingly awake now.

"What kind of music?" Her mom asked.

"Mostly rock." He explained, continuing his meal.

"Frank plays the guitar and writes his own little songs." Emma swooned, seemingly unable to wipe that loving smile off her face. "He's very talented."

"Oh, really?" Mrs. Way exclaimed. "That's really interesting. You'll have to let me listen to your songs, then." Frank nervously blushed at that and gently nodded.

To his right he noticed Gerard smile slightly, starting to nibble on some of his food, looking up a bit more, but still refusing to look anyone in their face.

Frank got some weird vibes from his girlfriend's brother. He seemed completely ignored in the family. But maybe that was just for today, since today was a special day, and all the attention and focus was on Emma. He didn't know and should stop wondering and caring. It didn't matter, anyway. It wasn't any of his business.

"Can I go?" The voice came from his right, making Frank look at the strange boy. His voice was soft, gentle, barely audible. His mom looked at him and sighed.

"Aren't you hungry?" She asked him, inching closer to her son as she noticed everyone watched her. Gerard shook his head, using his fingertips to push the plate closer to the center of the table. "Why are you doing this, Gerard? We have a guest over."

"I'm just not hungry right now." He whispered back. Frank felt the tension worsen, and in this kind of situation, he should probably have looked away, pretended to not notice the awkwardness between the family members. But somehow, he could help looking at the scene unfolding in front of him. Emma squeezed his hand, trying to make him look away.

He heard her sigh while her dad looked in the other direction, even though there was nothing but an empty wall there, the clock ticking in the thick silence. It was unbearable.

"Fine, go upstairs." Mrs. Way finally said, scooting away and suddenly taking Gerard's full plate. He barely ate two spoons of it. She opened the trash can and emptied out his plate. Gerard stood up and silently walked out of the room. Frank swallowed audibly, uncomfortable and honestly, kind of lost.

"I'm sorry about that, Frank." Mrs. Way smiled gently, sitting back down, Gerard's chair still pushed back, leaving an awkward empty space to his right. "Gerard can be a bit..." She seemed to struggle to find the correct word.

"Of a hand full." Emma's father finished, snapping back into reality. Frank nodded understandably, everyone has that harder to handle family member. It's nothing new or shocking. Maybe the kid was having his teenage rebel years.

"It's fine." He replied, finishing his food with a gentle smile.

•••

"I am so sorry about my brother." Emma rubbed her temples in frustration. They were both sitting on her bed, chatting after the meal.

"It's fine, babe." Frank assured her for the thousandth time.

"No, really. I don't know why he always has to be like that..." She sighed, really upset about her brother's behavior. "He's just so frustrating. I can't believe he still managed to act like that in front of you."

"Nothing happened." He whispered, still confused about this whole situation. Gerard was just kind of quiet and wasn't hungry. Maybe he's shy or sick, or maybe he was worried about a test he had to study for. Nothing he did seemed awful or horrible.

"He's embarrassing." She complained, sounding desperate as she kept on rubbing the sides of her head.

"Hey." Frank snapped, taking her arms and pulling them away from her face. "It was fine. Nothing happened." He repeated, making her look at him. She smiled sadly and let out the air in her lungs. "Why are you so worried about him?"

"He's just... Different." She whispered, clearly uneasy about this. "We don't like to talk about it."

"Yeah, that's fine." Frank nodded, pulling her closer to him. "Let's just forget about it." He suggested, kissing her on her forehead as she nodded gently.

"I love you." She murmured, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend's waist.

"Love you, too, babe." He replied, pecking her on her lips.

•••

Frank finally left late in the evening after spending some time alone with his girlfriend and chatting with her parents. He didn't see Gerard again, the boy seemingly vanished to his room, never getting out. He figured he was just shy and didn't particularly appreciate his presence.

He walked back home in silence, his earphones in until he reached his destination.

"How was dinner, sweetie?" His mom asked once he entered the house. It was like she had been waiting for his return, eager to know about the visit.

"It was good." Frank smiled at his mom while taking off his jacket. "Her parents are very nice." He decided it was probably best to leave the part about Emma's brother out. No need to make things awkward or bring it up again.

"That's great news, honey." She grinned, hugging her son. "When is Emma coming over again?"

"Not sure yet." He sighed, kind of fed up with Emma and her family. Frank wanted some kind of break from it. A few days to himself. Luckily, it was the weekend. "We haven't talked about that. But I'm guessing next weekend."

"Alright then, I'll let you head upstairs." She nodded, leaving for the living room. Frank jogged up the stairs, almost expecting to find Patrick still waiting on his bed, an eager grin on his face, ready to question him about the dinner. But when he opened the door, he was met with a dark empty room.

He unbuttoned his shirt a little and let himself collapse on the soft surface of his bed with a heavy sigh.


	4. The Coffee Shop

The weekend seemed to last only five minutes, and Frank now found himself in the school hallway yet again, waiting for the bell to ring.

"How about we hang out after classes?" Emma suggested, clinging tightly onto her boyfriend's arm. He tried his best to suppress the urge to push her off.

"I can't, babe." Frank replied, giving her a sad smile. "I have work after school."

"Right." She puffed, slumping down a little. "Don't forget our date for Friday, though. Six months." Emma had an excited grin spread across her face. Frank couldn't help but chuckle at her enthusiasm. It was quite cute, but somehow also annoying and nauseating.

"How could I forget?" He smiled.

"Frank!" Patrick clapped his hands, forcing him to look at his friend. "We gotta get to class. Biology is waiting for us." He groaned and kissed an annoyed Emma goodbye, trailing behind Patrick.

"How was dinner last Friday?" His best friend questioned.

"Fine." Frank replied, staring at the ground as they walked to the right class.

"Are you sure? You seemed pretty nervous before the dinner. And now you just seem disappointed." Patrick noticed, frowning in confusion. "Were her parents mean or something?"

"No, no," Frank shook his head, finally looking at his friend. "Her parents were great, they're really nice."

"What's wrong, then?" Patrick asked as they sat down at their desk in the back row of their biology class.

"Emma's got a brother I didn't know about." He started, dropping his book on the table with a loud thud. "He's very awkward and weird and-"

"Frank, Patrick, let's not start again." The teacher warned, walking into the room and already pissing the both boys off. They weren't even the only ones talking and the class had barely begun.

The teacher turned around and started writing something on the board as he instructed the pupils to turn to page 58.

"What's so weird about her brother?" Patrick whispered, flipping to the right page.

"He very... Quiet, I guess." Frank shrugged, looking at the images of cells in the book. He couldn't find a single interesting thing about biology. "His family almost seems to ignore his existence. Emma's never even told me she has a brother." Patrick hummed.

"Yeah, I guess that's strange." His friend murmured, writing something on a piece of paper next to his textbook. "Was it so strange that you're this upset about it?"

he shut up at that. It was just a minor insignificant detail about that night. Emma's brother and his behavior shouldn't interest him this much. He shook it off.

"Not really. I was just surprised to learn this guy existed, I guess." Frank whispered. They were both shut up as the teacher spun around, glaring at them in the back row.

•••

Frank was spacing out, staring at the beige wall next to him. The coffee shop was particularly quiet today. Only a few people were scattered across the room, silently drinking their beverages, typing away on their laptops or phone screens.

"No daydreaming." His colleague teased, walking past him and patting him softly on the back.

"I wasn't." Frank quickly defended himself, making the other laugh.

His colleague, Ryan, walked over to the counter, serving someone their drink while Frank started to clean the workspace.

He quickly looked up and behind him when he heard the customer speak. That same soft, gentle voice he heard a couple of days ago. Sure enough, when he looked at the boy standing in front of Ryan, Frank quickly identified him as Emma's brother.

He put down the dirty rag on the counter and walked over next to his colleague. The boy looked at him and bit his lip, looking down at his shoes.

"Hey, Gerard." Frank greeted him, Gerard's head snapped up, a confused yet shocked expression on his face. He thought Frank would've forgotten about him by now.

"Hi." He whispered back as Ryan turned around and started preparing his drink.

"How are you doing?" Frank tried his best to make some small talk, the boy seemed awfully uncomfortable.

"Uhm, I'm fine." Gerard replied, too nervous to look him in the eye.

"That's good. How-"

"One caramel frappe for you." Ryan returned handing the beverage to Gerard and interrupting their conversation.

"Thanks." Gerard took his drink and turned around, walking to one of the seats furthest away from the counter. Frank frowned at that but decided to focus on his work. He shouldn't waste his time on Gerard. He just thought he should be nice to his girlfriend's brother.

•••

Some time went by. Ryan took care of the customers while Frank cleaned the dirty cups and dishes. He kept looking over at Gerard's seat, making sure the boy was still there.

The boy's been sitting there for over an hour, glancing at the front doors of the shop worriedly. It confused him. Was he waiting for someone?

The clock kept ticking and costumers came in but mostly left until it was dark outside, leaving no one but Frank, Ryan, and Gerard in the building.

"That kid's still sitting there." Ryan whispered to Frank as they were doing the dishes, the coffee shop now officially closed. "What're we supposed to do with him?"

"I'll handle it, he's Emma's brother." Frank explained, voice lower than a murmur to avoid alerting said boy.

"Emma's got a brother?" Ryan frowned, completely confused. The other nodded, not really caring to explain the entire situation to his coworker. "What's he even doing here?"

"I have no idea. I'll go talk to him." Frank sighed, dropping the coffee cup he was holding back into the warm water and throwing the rag over his shoulder.

Frank walked over to the boy who was eyeing the windows of the shop restlessly. Gerard seemed completely unaware of his presence until he cleared my throat, making the boy jump in his seat.

"The shop's closed." Frank explained seeing the four cups of iced coffee on the table in front of Gerard.

"Oh." He exclaimed, running a hand through his red hair. "I'm sorry, I'll leave." He shot up, grabbing his backpack and shoving his jacket inside.

"Are you okay?" The dark-haired boy wondered as the other seemed to stress out. "Do you want me to drive you home?"

"No, no." Gerard shook his head, his bag flung over his shoulder. "It's fine." Frank was really worried and confused about anything involving the boy. What was his deal?

"Hey." He stopped Gerard from leaving through the door by grabbing his arm, making them both freeze in their tracks. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Gerard swallowed audibly, crawling away from his touch, his eyes wide.

"Yes, I told you I'm fine." He repeated, a little more annoyed now.

"Gerard." Frank pushed his hand forward, ready to stop the stranger again.

"I said I'm fine." Gerard exclaimed, pushing his arm away from him. Frank breathed in deeply, seeing Gerard's eyes fill with regret before he stormed out of the building, leaving him standing in front of the door.

"Wow... What a drama queen." Ryan commented, marching over to Frank. "The idiot even forgot his wallet."

His eyes shot to the table Gerard sat at, noticing the black leather object laying untouched on its surface. Frank quickly grabbed it, stuffing it in his pants.

"I'll give it to Emma tomorrow." He explained. Now certain about avoiding her brother.


	5. The Sleepover

"Frank?" Emma looked very puzzled, a confused frown on her face the moment she opened her front door and noticed her boyfriend standing in front of her.  
  
"Hey, babe." He smiled.  
  
"What are you doing here? It's nine pm." She was still as confused but let him peck her on the cheek.   
  
"I came here to bring this." He fished the wallet out of his pocket, putting it into Emma's hands. She looked down at it, flinging it around as she lifted an eyebrow, still as confused as before. "It's your brother's."   
  
"Gerard?" She asked. The confusion only seemed to get worse for Emma. "How did you get Gerard's wallet?"   
  
"He forgot it at the shop." He explained, his turn to frown at the awkwardness.   
  
"The coffee shop?" She verified, making Frank nod. She licked her lips quickly before biting down on them, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "Alright. Thanks, babe. I'll be sure to hand it to him." She smiled sweetly at him, but Frank sensed the bitterness behind it. He opened his mouth, ready to ask her about it, but decided against it at the last second.   
  
"Okay, then. I'll see you tomorrow at school." He leaned over and kissed her, leaving and heading home.   
  
•••   
  
Frank's week was slow, so incredibly slow. Everything was so boring and bland. School was really tiring him out, but Friday finally came, and Frank went on a nice date with Emma. It wasn't really at the right moment, he was very stressed from school and work, so their anniversary and the date weren't really that great of an experience to him. He did try his best to be smiley and nice, figuring Emma deserved a good dinner, especially since it was a special day.   
  
After they were done at the restaurant, Emma invited Frank over to her house. It was already pretty late, so he thought he'd just get in, say hi, and leave. They chatted a bit and without anyone noticing, it got pretty late.   
  
"Frank, would you like to stay over?" Mrs. Way suggested after she and her daughter disappeared to talk. He thought about it a little, and after calling his mom, the sleepover was planned out. Emma's parents were okay with Frank staying over on the one condition that he'd sleep in her brother's room. That made him freeze a bit, reconsidering his choice. But he figured it was too late to change his mind now, it would only make him look rude.   
  
"Only if Gerard is okay with it." Frank replied, feeling like all he did was make the boy nervous and uncomfortable.   
  
"Of course he is." She assured. Mrs. Way headed upstairs, and Frank heard some quiet arguing between Emma's mom and her brother through the thin ceiling above him.   
  
"Today was nice." Emma started, grabbing Frank's hand, squeezing it softly, obviously trying to divert his attention from the noise above them.   
  
"It really was." He smiled at her, glancing at their intertwined hands in silence.   
  
"I'm happy." She grinned again. It felt so forced... "Six months. Can you believe it?" Frank let out a gentle chuckle.   
  
"It has been a great six months. I'm so glad to have spent them with you, babe." Emma blushed at that, eyeing her boyfriend lovingly.   
  
"I love you." She whispered.   
  
Mrs. Way walked down the stairs, interrupting the couple by clapping her hands together. "Alright guys, why don't you two go to bed, you still have the whole day tomorrow." She winked.  
  
They both nodded before quietly heading upstairs. Frank kissed his girlfriend goodnight and gently knocked on the second door on the right. He heard a soft hum which he took as an invitation to enter the room. He finally took in the room, unable to have done it the last time he was there. Gerard's bedroom was pretty small, the walls painted in a baby blue color, cozy furniture scattered through the space, a small bed to the right and an air mattress on the floor next to it.   
  
Gerard was sitting behind his desk just like last time. He seemed to be wearing black sweatpants and a black hoodie, the hood pulled over his head.   
  
"Hey," Frank whispered, not sure if the other had even heard him enter at all. Gerard's head lifted a bit, he looked like he was slumped over his desk. "I'm sorry I have to stay in your room." Maybe it was best to apologize, he left like he was supposed to walk on eggshells around the boy. Gerard turned his chair around in order to face him.   
  
"No, it's fine." He shook his head while getting up from his seat. "Do you have any pajamas?" Gerard looked at the empty handed boy standing in his room.   
  
Frank shrugged. "I'll just sleep in my shirt and underwear. I'll change when I get home tomorrow." He assured, feeling like he'd made the other uncomfortable enough. He didn't wanna bother him even more by pushing him.   
  
"Yeah, okay, sure," Gerard mumbled, biting down on his lip aggressively. He felt awfully uncomfortable in his own room and would rather spend the night alone. Frank sat down on the air mattress, taking his phone out of his pocket to scroll through his feeds. Gerard stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, he wanted to talk to the boy sitting in front of him but seemed to be unable to find a topic. "Do you work at the coffee shop?" He asked and immediately wanted to slap himself across the face the moment those words left his mouth.   
  
Frank looked up from his screen. "Yeah, I've been working there for about three months." He nodded.   
  
"Cool," Gerard replied, quickly sitting down on the bed. "I've never seen you there before."   
  
"I didn't know you existed until a week ago." Frank blurted out, making Gerard take in a deep breath and eye the floor. "I'm sorry."   
  
"It's fine." Gerard shook his head. "My parents don't like to talk about me."  
  
"Why's that? Emma never even mentioned you in over a year of knowing her." Frank was still as confused about the situation ever since he discovered the existence of Gerard Way. How could someone spend so much time with someone else without ever mentioning the existence of their sibling?  
  
"They don't really like me." Gerard whispered sadly, making Frank frown.   
  
"Sure they do. Your family loves you." He didn't even know why he was trying to convince the other. He knew nothing about the situation his family was personally in and should maybe refrain from saying these sorts of things. He just assumed every parent loved their child unconditionally. Frank didn't really know how else to respond or comfort him.   
  
Gerard shook his head. "They really don't. But what can I do about it?" He let out a desperate sigh and gently lifted his shoulders. "I'm sorry, I should stop talking." He bit his lip again, his hands starting to shake.   
  
"Are you okay?" Frank worried, instinctively taking Gerard's hand into his own as he noticed the trembling. Gerard completely froze at that, his eyes almost popping out of his skull as he stared at their fingers.  
  
"Don't touch me." Gerard murmured seemingly terrified. Frank's brows knitted together at the comment. "Please."   
  
The other let go of Gerard, scooting back a few inches. "Sorry." He replied, regretting the action immediately.   
  
"I wanna go sleep." Gerard whispered, sliding under the covers and curling up onto himself, his eyes tightly shut. Frank just sat on the mattress with his mouth hung open.   
  
After a while of nothing, Gerard slowly opened one of his eyes, starting to peek at the current state of his room. A bright blush instantly spread across his cheeks as he saw the other pulling his pants down, getting ready for bed. The red haired boy knew he should've closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but he was unable to tear his gaze off his sister's boyfriend. Granted, he didn't see anything scandalous, but Frank's exposed legs were really nice to look at, and made the inexperienced boy blush deeply. Gerard pulled the blanket over his face, letting it come up until just under his eyes, feeling the need to cover his heating cheeks in embarrassment.   
  
Frank found the light switch above his head and clicked it, making the room pitch black. He leaned down to get under the covers when he came eye to eye with Gerard. He slightly flinched, but quickly let out a laugh.   
  
"Hi," Frank whispered, a bright smile on his face. Gerard seemed to get even more embarrassed and hid his face into his blanket. Frank chuckled at that, laying down on the air mattress.  
  
"Hey," Gerard murmured back, uncovering his face and looking at the boy laying on floor level. Frank stared at him, the eye contact should've been uncomfortable. So why did it feel so natural? Frank noticed the soft pink dusted on the younger cheeks despite the darkness around them. He also looked at his nice eyes that were formed into crescents as he was still grinning.   
  
"I like your smile." Frank complimented, even though it wasn't actually visible under the sheets.   
  
"Thanks." Gerard smiled even brighter if that was even possible, his cheeks were now on fire and his whole face was burning up.   
  
"You're adorable." Frank laughed, seeing the boy bury himself into his covers again. "Goodnight, Gerard."   
  
"Goodnight," Gerard whispered back, his voice muffled by the blanket that was completely covering his face. Frank smiled at the red-haired boy. He usually slept on his left, finding it way more comfortable, but he somehow didn't have the heart to turn over, rather staying on his right, facing Gerard.


	6. A Connection

Frank woke up pretty early, but Gerard was already awake, sitting up on his bed, legs crossed, messy hair, looking down at a book, with the covers pulled over his lap.  
  
"Morning," Frank grumbled, pulling himself up into a sitting position similar to Gerard's. The other boy looked to his left, dropping the novel onto the soft surface of his bed. "What're you reading?"  
  
"A book for my English class," Gerard replied, folding a corner of the page he was on, closing the book, and dropping it on his nightstand next to his bed.  
  
"Where do you go to school?"  
  
"Yours." Frank frowned at that, he's never seen Gerard in the hallways before. But then again, he never paid much attention to the shy kids hidden in the corners, and seeing how Gerard has acted the three times Frank's seen him, he was pretty sure the boy fit that category perfectly. "We're not in the same grade. I'm a year younger than you."  
  
"How do you know my age?" Frank furrowed his brows.  
  
"Emma talks about you a lot. Granted, not to me, but I'm present when she talks about you with my mom." Gerard explained. Frank slowly nodded at that, it made sense. A silence settled comfortably between them. "Let's head downstairs. Emma's probably waiting for you." Frank knew Emma for longer than a day and was aware that she usually woke up later in the day, towards noon. There was no way she was already downstairs, waiting for Frank's arrival. Gerard was probably uncomfortable with his presence, so the older decided to keep quiet and leave for the kitchen, Gerard walking beside him.  
  
•••  
  
The two boys had been talking about insignificant things for a while. Frank discovered Gerard's love for music and instruments, even if he wasn't allowed to attend singing lessons. Apparently, his parents didn't want him to sing and play music, preferring a hobby more like basketball or soccer for their son. That only confused Frank, but he chose not to comment on it. It wasn't his business, after all. Frank then talked about his own passion for music, mentioning he even writes his own songs even if he can't sing them very well. Gerard really felt comfortable chatting with the older boy, a feeling he wasn't really used to at all. His cheeks hurt ever since Frank woke up, barely being able to stop smiling. He didn't know why or how, but the other had a really soothing and nice effect on him.  
  
"Gerard!" He heard a stern voice and saw an angry looking Mrs. Way in the doorframe of the living room. Gerard instantly shot up at that, fear evident in his eyes as he stared at his mother who seemed furious for a reason that wasn't clear to Frank. She just woke up, why was she already angry? Maybe Gerard forgot to clean something in the house or got a bad grade on his history test from last week. "We've talked about this, Gerard."  
  
"Y-yes, mom. I'm sorry." Gerard mumbled, quickly getting up and walking away from Frank before rushing up the stairs, probably to disappear into his bedroom again. Emma appeared next to her mother, eyeing Frank with a worried look.  
  
"Babe?" She started, carefully approaching her boyfriend. Her voice rang extremely soft and gentle. "Can I talk to you?"  
  
Frank nodded at her, following her into the empty kitchen where Emma leaned against the counter, her arms wrapped around her frame, nervously gulping. Frank carefully approached her, unsure about what was yet to come, but he braced himself nonetheless. Her whole posture and mannerisms indicated that this was something serious and big.  
  
"I need to talk to you about Gerard real quick." She started, obviously dreading the conversation as she let out a heavy sigh, breathing in a large amount of air.  
  
"What about him?" Frank asked, inching closer to his girlfriend, his brows furrowed in confusion.  
  
"He's sick, Frank." She exclaimed, seemingly frustrated. Sick? How? Did he have the flu? And why was Emma even angry at her brother for being ill?  
  
"Sick?" Frank whispered trying to understand, still as lost in this whole story she was attempting at explaining.   
  
"Yes, Frank! He's sick, you shouldn't stay around him." Emma warned, looking at him with pleading eyes, obvious worry filling them.  
  
"Is it contagious?" He frowned at the whole situation. Why was he in the open then? "What's he got? The flu?"  
  
"Gerard's sick mentally." She clarified. "He isn't right in his head, and you should just avoid him." Frank's frown was still present on his face. What was going on here? He wanted to ask, have an opinion, and talk this through, maybe even get Gerard's side of the story. Because mental illness wasn't a bad thing, and it certainly wasn't contagious, so why did he have to avoid him? Like alright, he's got some mental health issues, that's no big deal. That doesn't make him any less of a good person or even less of a human. But what good would that conversation do? To be so intrusive and insensitive wasn't Frank's nature. This wasn't his family or his business. So he gave in.  
  
"Alright," Frank whispered defeatedly, deciding to keep quiet about his inner monologue. "I'll stay away from him, then."  
  
"Thanks." Emma let out a sigh of relief before quickly hugging her boyfriend. Frank froze, not feeling like wrapping his arms around her after all that.  
  
•••  
  
"Come on, brighten up, Frankie." Patrick grinned in front of him, bouncing up and down the hallway of the school. "Do you miss Emma? Is that why you're so grumpy?"  
  
"I'm fine, Patrick." He sighed, readjusting the strap of his backpack, trying his best to avoid bumping into his friend.  
  
"You don't seem like it." Patrick continued, quieting down slightly when he noticed Frank seriously seemed upset. "Hey, why don't you come over some time, we can-" Frank was lost in his thoughts, drowning out Patrick's voice as he kept walking on autopilot, instinctively stopping in front of his class. Just as he was about to enter, he felt a soft tap on his shoulder, making him turn around.  
  
"Gerard?" He sounded surprised seeing the younger stand there in front of him.  
  
"Hey, Frank." Gerard smiled shyly. The older noticed how much more comfortable Gerard now seemed around him. It made him happy. He knew he promised his girlfriend he would stay away from the kid, but he didn't have the heart to shove him away. Gerard was a nice person, and Frank was allowed to make his own decisions and friends.  
  
"How are you?" He asked, completely ignoring Patrick's plans about hanging out. His friend was standing beside him, a confused look on his face as he eyed the scene in front of him. Patrick seemed lost at how, all of a sudden, there was no more anger in Frank's eyes, no more annoyed expression on his face, they were now replaced with a smile and kindness that even reached even his eyes. All of that the second he saw that boy in front of him. Weird.  
  
"I've been fine," Gerard replied, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. Adorable. "But I was wondering if you're working today."  
  
"Yeah, I am. Every weekday." Frank explained, staring at the younger's bright eyes, the skin on his face seemed so soft to the touch. If only he could just... Reach out. He couldn't.  
  
"Alright then, I'll be sure to get some coffee today." Gerard nodded, breaking out into a full-on smile, walking away from Frank and disappearing into the mass of teenagers. The older still had a slight smile on his face, confused about anything revolving around that boy. But he was very happy noticing how much more open Gerard got.  
  
"Who was that?" Patrick finally asked.  
  
"Gerard." "  
  
Who?" He continued as they both stepped into the room, dropping their bags at their feet.  
  
"Emma's brother." Frank clarified, pulling out his books and a single black ink pen. Here we go again.  
  
"Well, you were right about him being a bit strange," Patrick commented, starting to scribble something on the desk with his pencil.  
  
"He's a little weird, but I think he's just shy." Frank shrugged, looking ahead of him, to the front of the class. The teacher was late again. "He's a nice kid, though."  
  
"You're getting the coffee shop some more customers. Impressive, my charismatic player. They'll soon give you a promotion!" Patrick laughed, making the other snicker slightly. "What was that even about?"  
  
"I don't know." He lifted his shoulders. "He probably just wants some friends."


	7. The Meeting

Frank was rubbing the dirty old cloth over the surface of the counter while his bangs hung in his face. He felt his phone vibrate again in his pocket, so he quickly scanned the room and slipped it out of his pants, unlocking it quickly when he saw that Emma had sent him a message. She was complaining about her busy schedule, saying she had had four tests on the same day and was absolutely exhausted. He wrote her a quick sweet reply and was about to shove the phone back in his pocket when he got startled by Ryan grabbing him by the shoulders.  
  
"Stay off your phone, Frankie." He warned, shooting him a playful grin as he walked to the counter next to him. "Go take care of the orders."  
  
Frank puffed his cheeks and did as he was told, moving over to the customers waiting in line.  
  
"Gerard!" Frank smiled, his throat drying up. He actually came.  
  
"One caramel frappe, please." Gerard had an adorable grin on his face, his eyes in the form of crescents. Frank noted to himself that he really liked the younger's eyes. He quickly nodded and tried shaking off the thought while he tapped on a screen and passed the order to Ryan who started working on the sweet drink.  
  
"How was your day, Gerard?" Frank asked, putting away the money the boy handed him.  
  
"Pretty fine." He shrugged. "When are you coming over again?" Frank bit his lip at that, Gerard was really opening up now all of a sudden. Wow.  
  
"Uhm, not sure yet. I haven't really planned anything with Emma." He explained, glancing at Ryan behind him who was slowly putting the whipped cream over the cold coffee.  
  
"Oh. Okay." Gerard slumped down a little, a defeated look on his face, his once bright smile quickly fading.  
  
"Do you want to hang out?" Frank suddenly let out. He wanted to slap himself but didn't regret it the second the red-haired boy's eyes lit up.  
  
"Would that be okay?" The younger asked, face full of excitement. Frank lifted his shoulders, biting his lip so he wouldn't break out into an even wider smile.  
  
"Of course," Frank assured. Ryan walked over, handing Gerard his drink, which the younger gladly took and left to sit down not too far away from the counter.  
  
"Frank," Ryan started, making the older turn around and finally look away from Gerard. "Why don't you take a break, I'll handle the shop." Frank frowned at that, clearly confused since he had already had his break about an hour ago. "You know... Just sit down a little and relax a bit." He kept shooting overly obvious looks at the red-haired boy sitting not too far away. What was going on? Frank cocked his head to the side, still not picking up what his colleague was trying to imply. Why should he take a break to hang out with Gerard? "Just take a break." Ryan insisted, shoving Frank into the coffee shop.  
  
Frank stumbled a little but soon regained his posture and walked over to the younger. Gerard was already looking at him when the dark-haired boy met his eyes, seeing the boy sucking on the straw of his iced coffee, his cheeks hollowed.  
  
"H-hey," Frank mumbled. Why was he so nervous all of a sudden? It's just Gerard. "Can I uhm... Sit down?" He asked, putting his hands on the back of the chair next to the younger's. Gerard nodded eagerly, swallowing his beverage, so Frank pulled the chair back and sat down as Gerard silently sipped his drink. Frank noticed the soft blush on the boy's cheeks. "How's your coffee?" Frank asked, fumbling with his apron. Gerard put the cup down, smiling sweetly at the older.  
  
"Lovely." He replied, crescents instead of eyes. "How's your music going?" Gerard remembered the other talk about his struggles with his current new song. Frank put his hands in his hair out of frustration as a strained sigh left his lips.  
  
"Still stuck." He mumbled. "There's just something... Wrong with it. I just can't seem to figure it out." The song had been on a complete hiatus for a couple of weeks already. No matter how much time he spent tweaking or fumbling around with the melody, it never sounded right.  
  
"Oh, that's rough, sorry," Gerard whispered, taking a quick gulp of his drink.  
  
"Have you been able to convince your parents to attend singing lessons yet?" Frank asked with an excited look on his face to which Gerard took in a deep breath and bit his lip before shaking his head.  
  
"No, I don't think that'll ever be a possibility." The younger let out a sad laugh, obviously trying to not make it too awkward and sad.  
  
"I have a friend, my coworker actually, he sings incredibly well." Frank started, biting the inside of his cheek, quickly wondering if this was even a good idea. With Emma telling him to ignore the younger, he was doing the exact opposite. "Maybe I could ask him to teach you some things." Gerard started smiling extremely wide, his whole face radiating happiness, but realization soon hit him, and a gloomy expression took over.  
  
"I can't. My mom would find out I'm not home." Gerard sighed, his fingertips sticking out of his long sweater sleeves, playing with his half-empty cup of coffee.  
  
"Make up an excuse. Friend, homework or something." Frank shrugged.  
  
"Yeah, I'll think about it." Gerard nodded, but Frank was unconvinced seeing the look on the boy's face. Yet he decided to say nothing.  
  
"Frank," Ryan called, giving him a serious look and cocking his head towards the counter. Frank took a look at the clock hanging on the wall, the shop was closing. He nodded, turning around to see Gerard looking at his watch, a worried look on his face.  
  
"Are you okay?" Frank asked, his brows furrowed.  
  
"I'm late," Gerard whispered, eyes wide with terror.  
  
"I'll drive you, I'll be right back." The older assured, marching over to Ryan. His colleague had a knowing smirk on his face, looking at Frank up and down with a raised eyebrow. "What was that even about?" Frank whisper shouted, standing right next to Ryan so Gerard wouldn't hear anything. "Why did you force me to take a break?"  
  
"That kid has been coming over here multiple times last weekend, he kept looking for you." Ryan lifted his shoulders, putting the last cup back into place. "He looked really sad, like a lost puppy. I thought I could do this for him."  
  
"Liar, you're just trying to make me lose my job." Frank snickered, shoving his coworker playfully on his shoulder. "And make me seem like a weirdo."  
  
"Oops." Ryan lifted his hands up in defense, that same smirk still on his lips. "You caught me."  
  
"Asshole." The dark-haired boy laughed, walking over to Gerard who was still waiting by the door, nervously eyeing his watch. "Let's go."


	8. The Lesson

The bell rang five minutes ago, indicating to the students that it was finally lunchtime. Frank desperately shuffled through the mass of teenagers, pushing a few unlucky kids aside in order to make room. Patrick was trying his best to follow his friend, although he had no clue what the other was doing. Frank quickly scanned the faces that he passed in the hallway, not yet being able to spot Gerard. He has to be here somewhere. He was about to give up and just visit him later at home, when he noticed the boy covered in a large black hoodie slumped down near the wall. Frank pushed two boys apart to create a passage to Gerard.   
  
"Gee!" He exclaimed, a little out of breath from the running and searching. Gerard jumped at the sudden noise and shadow next to him but relaxed the moment he saw that it was only Frank.   
  
"Hi." He whispered, eyes cast downwards, afraid that he'd blush if he looked elsewhere.   
  
"You better thank me, 'cause I talked to Ryan, and he'd love to help you learn to sing!" Frank was so happy and excited for the younger, his mouth open and pulled upwards completely, showing off his teeth. Gerard let out a soft chuckle at the other boy's expression as he stood up, his eyes sparkling with almost childlike happiness.   
  
"Really?" The younger could barely believe it, holding onto his backpack straps as he hopped up and down on his tiptoes. Frank nodded excessively. "Thank you, thank you so much, Frank!" Seeing Gerard so excited and overjoyed made the older feel warm inside. The red-haired boy wasn't even sure if he would be able to find an excuse and attend his special lessons, but the thought of the possibility alone was enough to brighten up his entire day. Well, probably even his month. Year, maybe even his whole year.   
  
"Frank, you can't keep disappearing like that!" Patrick complained in a whiney tone, slumping against his friend's side. "I almost lost you in the crowd!"   
  
"I'll see you later, Gerard." Frank quickly said, seeing the younger starting to flee. Patrick stared him down, his brows furrowed and his head cocked to the side, questioning him with his eyes.   
  
"What's going on with you and that kid?" His friend asked, taking a step away from Frank.   
  
"Well, he is my girlfriend's brother, so naturally I try to be nice. Why can't I be friendly to him?" Frank shot back, getting a little defensive over nothing. Patrick lifted his hands, palms out toward his best friend, shrugging.   
  
"I didn't criticize you, I just think he's a bit clingy," Patrick explained, taking in a deep breath to calm himself. "Trying to impress the family, huh? So you're that serious about Emma?"   
  
"I mean, we've been together for half a year." Frank's voice carried a hint of irritation as he lifted his shoulders and walked towards the cafeteria with Patrick, sitting down at their usual spots.   
  
"Yeah, but you're like the cool, 'I don't care about relationships' kind of guy." Frank frowned at that, absolutely puzzled.   
  
"How am I like that?" Patrick gave him a serious look, rolling his eyes at his friend.   
  
"You were never too serious with your previous girlfriends, so I just assumed Emma would be the same." Patrick explained, taking out his food. Frank didn't eat, he didn't feel like he could.  
  
"Well, I actually really care about Emma, so." Frank snapped, leaning back in his chair, unable to look at Patrick anymore.   
  
"Wow, okay." Patrick stopped in the middle of opening his water bottle, his hand frozen on the cap. "Why are you all grumpy and aggressive all of a sudden?"   
  
"Never mind." He replied, shoving his chair back and walking out of the room, leaving a confused and shocked Patrick behind, waiting for the rest of their friend group to arrive. On his way out, Frank saw a kid sitting at a table alone with a dark hoodie pulled over his head, and without meaning to, he noticed Gerard's worried expression. He shook it off and looked in front of him again before storming out.   
  
•••   
  
"Try going a little higher," Ryan instructed, lifting his finger into the air.   
  
The younger finally found some sort of excuse and was now singing lessons from Ryan. Frank decided to stick around because Gerard seemed awfully nervous around his coworker alone. Frank sat on the couch in Ryan's spacious living room. Since the barista's mother wasn't around, they took advantage of the large space the livingroom offered, instead of being cramped in Ryan's small bedroom with all three of them. Frank kept on looking at the pair, listening to Ryan sing a note perfectly while Gerard nervously observed. At first, the younger was terrified, he could barely even talk without blushing, stumbling, and stuttering. But now that he had been around Ryan for a while, he started to warm up to the situation. Frank thought Gerard had talent. Granted, the older knew pretty much nothing about singing, he could barely hold a note. But there was something about Gerard's voice that was extremely captivating. He had it in him, you could see the passion and look of determination in his eyes.   
  
"Great," Ryan encouraged, making Frank snap out of his daydream. "Let's take a short break. Go drink some water, you need to hydrate those vocal cords." Gerard coughed a little into his fist and shoved his red hair out of his face. He locked eyes with Frank and shot him a crooked smile. The older almost choked on the air he was supposed to breathe when their eyes met, and he didn't even know it was possible to choke on air. Ryan and Gerard walked over to Frank and sat down next to him, Ryan handing a water bottle to the red-haired boy while he sipped on another. Gerard tilted his head back and began drinking from the bottle, his throat gulping. The older caught himself staring at the boy's neck but quickly snapped himself out of it. Damn it. "You're very good already." Ryan complimented, putting the empty bottle down on the floor. Gerard clutched onto his, almost making it seem like his security blanket.   
  
"Thank you." Gerard smiled sweetly, feeling shy at the compliment he'd received.   
  
"You just have to work on that one note I showed you, and try not to get too flat on the end." Ryan instructed, trying his best to help the kid.   
  
"I will," Gerard promised, determination evident on his face. Frank smiled at the pair, he was happy they got along so far.   
  
•••   
  
Frank stopped his car in front of Emma's house with Gerard sitting next to him in the passenger seat.   
  
"Thanks for driving me home, Frank." He grinned, his cheeks turning a warmer color, to which the older nodded.   
  
"You danced really good." He suddenly let out, making the younger turn into an even darker shade of red. "How was that your first lesson?"   
  
"I've practiced at home in the past," Gerard explained, examining his hands which were rubbing nervously over the fabric of his jeans. "Well, I used to until my mom caught me."   
  
"Well, even I can tell you're talented." Frank had a warm smile on his face. Gerard finally looked up from his fingers and stared at him, feeling his mouth dry up. Shit.   
  
"A compliment from someone who knows nothing about the subject isn't really that flattering." Gerard replied, playfulness in his crescent eyes. Frank was taken aback at the comment. Usually, the kid would just blush, look down, and whisper a shy thanks. The older's eyes widened before he let out a chuckle.   
  
"A thank you would've been nice." Frank smiled, making Gerard laugh as he put his sleeve covered hands over his face.   
  
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He giggled. "Seriously though, Frank, thank you for this. Singing means a lot to me, and I'm so happy you did this. I don't even know how to properly thank you." Gerard got all serious all of a sudden, looking deeply into the older's eyes, his filled with gratitude.   
  
"Just keep that being this happy and that'll be enough for me." Frank replied, no hint of a joke or playfulness in his voice. Gerard nodded at that, picking up his bag from the floor of the car, muttering a quick goodbye before exiting the vehicle. Frank sat quietly behind the wheel of his car for a while, staring at nothing, until he let out a soft chuckle to himself. "What a weird kid." He mumbled, starting the engine and driving off.


	9. A Touch

Frank felt Emma fist the front of his shirt, her lips tightly pressed against his. His hand rested on the small of her back, tracing soothing circles with his fingers. His girlfriend inched forward, pushing with her hand against his chest, urging him to lay down on the bed. Frank resisted a bit but felt Emma tense up, so he let himself fall back. Her touches made his skin crawl. His girlfriend landed on him and immediately reconnected their lips, her hands going from his hair down his body. It made Frank shiver but not in a good way. He froze, Emma felt it, his lips no longer moving against hers as he suddenly grabbed her hand, stopping her mid movement. Emma backed away from him, staring at his face, hers decorated with a confused frown. Frank didn't know what to say or how to react, so instead he just kept quiet. He felt her dark brown locks fall against his face, itching him. He resisted the urge to just swat it all away and push her off.   
  
"What's wrong, babe?" She questioned, her big brown eyes trying their best to analyze her boyfriends thoughts. She couldn't figure out what he was thinking. Her arm was still being held by Frank, his grip pretty firm.   
  
"Nothing." He whispered, almost choking on his breath, feeling like he should flee from her room.   
  
"What's going on?" Emma asked again. Frank finally let go of her arm and gently shoved her off his body. His girlfriend was obviously confused about everything, but sat up nonetheless.   
  
"I just..." Frank started, not sure where his sentence was even going. "I need to go." He breathed out, grabbing his backpack from the ground next to him and shooting out of the room. Emma called his name but didn't bother to get up from her bed when he didn't turn around and come back. His breathing got heavier as he marched through the hallway, his hands violently running through his dark hair. His eyes scanned over the walls, the framed pictures hanging on it, mostly of Emma smiling and her parents. None of Gerard.   
  
Gerard.   
  
The boy bumped into him as he was walking out of his room. Frank was too caught up with the pictures that he didn't notice Gerard appearing in the hallway.   
  
"Frank?" The younger cocked his head to the side. As he looked into the boy's eyes, Frank's breathing became heavier again, but in a nice tingly way. "Why are you all shaky and weird?"   
  
"N-Nothing. I don't know." He mumbled, slightly pulling on the roots of his hair. Gerard grabbed his arm, tugging it away from his head gently, a dusty pink over his cheeks.   
  
"S-sorry, I shouldn't touch you." Gerard whispered, letting go of Frank's arm which fell to the side of the older's body.   
  
"No, it's fine." Frank assured, taking a step closer to him, his hand reaching for the younger's.   
  
Both boys looked at how Frank was about to hold his hand. The older stopped when he was almost there, his fingers trembling slightly as he moved them forward, so close to Gerard's. He didn't know why but he just wanted to feel his hand, see how it fit, how it felt. Frank frowned as he saw his pointer finger barely caress the younger's skin. Suddenly, he pulled his hand back, staring at a confused Gerard who had his eyes wide open, lips slightly parted. Shit. Frank shook his head, trying to clear the fog that was starting to form in his brain. What was going on?   
  
"I really nee-need to go." Frank said in a rush, tightening the straps of his backpack as he took a step back and jogged down the stairs.   
  
The tip of his right pointer finger was still tingling, so he violently shoved it down into the pocket of his jacket. Frank stormed outside, breathing in the fresh air, feeling like his lungs were about to burst. Why was he so anxious all of a sudden? Why couldn't he stand touching Emma for longer than a second? He wasn't nervous about kissing her or being a bit more physical. He's done it all before with her, so he had no reason to panic or feel weird about it. But for some sort of reason, he had this tense feeling in the pit of his stomach, it all just felt so incredibly wrong.   
  
•••   
  
The day went by and the following morning he had to wake up early again and head for school. The moment he stepped into the building, Frank had to take in a deep breath and close his eyes for a split second. He knew he'd have to face Emma now, and he had been planning a whole explanation for her. He didn't really know what went wrong the day before. Frank just didn't feel okay, he felt weird and desperately needed to go home and relax. He saw his girlfriend standing by his locker, her back resting against the grey metal. She was fumbling with her hair, twisting the locks around her finger.   
  
"Emma?" Her head shot up and she locked eyes with her boyfriend. "Hey," Frank tried his best to give her a warm smile, she simply stared at him with a neutral expression, the anger still evident in her gaze. Emma bit her lip, crossing her arms over her chest, clearly annoyed by her boyfriend and his behavior. "I'm sorry about yesterday." He started, dreading everything to come. "I wasn't feeling well, I'm just really stressed about school and work."   
  
"You could've talked to me." She complained, her look focused on the floor of the hallway. He noticed Patrick standing a bit further away, eyeing the situation Frank was in, he looked confused, but also disappointed.  
  
"I know, I should've." He sighed, focusing on his girlfriend again. "I'm sorry, babe."   
  
"Yeah, it's fine, I just wanna be alone a bit, to cool down," Emma told him, looking into his face. Frank nodded slightly at her.   
  
"Are you angry at me?" He asked, feeling like she was being a bit over dramatic.   
  
"I'm honestly just a little fed up." She puffed her cheeks, pushing herself up from the lockers she was leaning against before walking away from her boyfriend and disappearing into the mass of people.   
  
Frank took in some more air again, he was feeling fed up as well. It was like there was no spark left, no fireworks when he kissed Emma or held her. No more rapid heart beats, bouncy butterflies, or tingles. Nothing. Well, were there ever any to begin with? He was only seventeen, what did he even know about life and love? Frank shook his head, deciding to think about something else. No need to get all deep and ask himself all sort of stupid questions to which he knew he had no anwsers. Life wasn't that deep anyway. You just have to do what feels right in the moment and figure it all out as it comes to you. Right?   
  
"Frank?" He got snapped out of his daze, looking over to his right, his best friend standing next to him. Shit, another person he treated awfully. Speaking about doing what feels right...   
  
"Patrick." Frank sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about lunch a few days ago. I've been stressed and tired and-"   
  
"Frankie." Patrick abruptly stopped him, giving him a warm smile instead. "Don't worry about it," The other nodded, still feeling guilty about his behavior towards everyone. It's just like anything involving Emma got on his nerves. "I'm not angry about it, you're obviously stressed out, I've noticed."   
  
"Yeah..." Frank breathed, rubbing his hand over his own arm.   
  
"Maybe you should take a day off to relax or something." Patrick adviced, making his friend nod yet again.   
  
"Let's just go to class." The blonde smiled, wrapping his arm around Frank and guiding him to their classroom.


	10. A Confession

Gerard frowned at Frank in confusion. They stood in the empty school parking lot facing each other, all the other students had already gone home for a while. Both of them were shivering as the wind blew icy air into their faces.   
  
"What do you mean, you're sorry?" Gerard asked, his hot breath forming fog as soon as it left his mouth. Frank had already apologized to his girlfriend, his best friend, and now he also felt the need to do the same to Gerard. He just wasn't in his right mind yesterday.   
  
"I don't know." Frank scratched the back of his neck in discomfort. "I was just acting weird for some reason."   
  
"Well, it's okay." The red-haired boy replied, still feeling like there was no reason to apologize for what happened. The younger actually quite enjoyed the gentle touch, even if it was barely there. He had wanted to reach for the older's hand and never let go, but he had been completely frozen in the moment, unable to bring himself to act on his thoughts. He ruined it. Again. Shit.   
  
Frank nervously bit down on his lip, shivering even more as the November air blew a little harsher. He noticed Gerard trembling from the cold weather, the tip of his nose a bright red and his cheeks a nice pink color. The red-haired boy had his coat completely shut over layers of fabric to keep himself from getting any colder, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his black jacket. He even had a matching beanie on top of his head which was slightly too large for him as it seemed to swallow his skull. But Frank somehow thought it looked cute on Gerard, everything about him was endearing. Frank also thought the younger looked oddly adorable with his warm-colored cheeks and puffy face, the only thing missing was his smile. Instead, Gerard looked kind of lost. Disappointed, almost.   
  
"Are you okay? You seem kind of spaced out." The older wondered, bringing his hand towards Gerard, unsure of what he was really reaching for. Frank noticed that he was like that a lot around Gerard, he found himself just yearning to touch the younger without any actual reason. Gerard took a hesitant step backward as he nervously started to chew on his chapped bottom lip. "  
  
You can't touch me." He whispered, staring wide-eyed at Frank and his stretched out hand which he quickly pulled back.   
  
"Why?" Frank asked, and it made the younger freeze, already feeling himself get emotional. Damn it, why was he such a mess?   
  
"You just can't." He simply repeated, he couldn't tell Frank, he just couldn't. Frank would hate him, and he wouldn't be able to bear knowing that.   
  
"Does it have to do with your mental health problem?" The older asked. It was probably not the best way to ask Gerard about the topic, sure, but he had been wondering about it ever since Emma brought it up. He saw Gerard's eyes widen even more, if possible. He took a second step backward while his eyes started to get watery. Shit, maybe he shouldn't have asked about that. Probably a little insensitive.   
  
"You... You know about that?" He whimpered. No, no, no. This wasn't good, this is the worst thing that could happen to Gerard. He finally found someone that didn't absolutely hate him, someone he actually liked and was kind, and now Frank was going to abandon him. Like they all did.   
  
"Emma mentioned it some time ago," Frank explained, confusing Gerard. He knew about it but stayed? "She never told me what it was, though. Why don't you wanna touch me?" Gerard did want to touch Frank, that was the whole problem because he couldn't, he wasn't allowed to.   
  
"Because mom told me I'll go to hell if I did." Gerard whispered almost to himself, making Frank's eyebrows furrow together in confusion. What was going on? He was gonna go to hell? How?   
  
Then, suddenly it hit him, and Frank's expression softened as he felt his stomach drop, an eerie feeling taking over his body as the hairs on his arms stood up straight and a nauseating feeling plagued his entire being. Gerard felt his eyes sting, his tears blurring his vision. He blinked a couple of times, getting rid of them as they fell down his face. Damn it, he didn't want to cry in front of Frank.   
  
"Gerard?" Frank's voice was so soft, so gentle, the younger couldn't resist looking up at his pretty face. "A-are you gay?" There it was, that one question he absolutely dreaded. The one question that could ruin his whole life. The one that had already done so.   
  
Gerard's breath caught in his throat as he stared at Frank, whose face was decorated with a worried expression. He couldn't bring himself to lie to him. It's not like it would even be convincing with him crying at the mention of the word and freezing up when the sentence left the older's mouth. The younger boy wasn't able to make any noise, much less form an audible and cohesive sentence in that moment, so he slowly nodded as more tears flooded his eyes. How Frank hated seeing the younger's eyes any different than in the form of crescents. His heart ached so badly to watch him be so hurt and vulnerable about this. He shouldn't feel like that.   
  
"Now you're gonna hate me." Gerard choked on a sob as he buried his face in his hands, already seeing them turn a bit redder from the cold.   
  
"No, I won't," Frank reassured him, trying his best to keep his voice soothing and calm, he didn't want to scare the boy off. The older reached for Gerard's arms, pulling his hands away from his crying face. He let him. "I don't care about that, Gee." Gerard saw nothing but honesty in the older's eyes, and it confused him. How couldn't he hate someone as filthy as himself? How? "I care about your personality, kindness, and humor. That's what's important to me." Frank put his right hand on the younger's cheek, softly wiping away a thick tear that was rolling down his face. He felt his whole hand burn at the touch despite the freezing temperatures surrounding them as a wave of electricity ran through his veins. It all made him want to wrap himself around Gerard.   
  
Gerard's breath caught in his throat at the gentle touch, only craving more. He wanted to hold the older, bury his face into his shirt and cry out all his tears, all his pent up frustration and hurt, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. To say the older was worried about Gerard and his well being was an understatement. How could a mother say that to her own child? He knew something was off about Emma's parents the moment he met them, something about their hospitality and kindness seemed plastic and fake, but he previously thought that it was only his nerves and worries talking. Turns out he was in fact correct after all. The way they talked and acted around their son was a major red flag as well. Frank should've done something, and now he felt terrible for not noticing and acting sooner.   
  
"You don't need to feel ashamed about that." The older felt like he missed his chance to help the kid before, so he'll do it now. There was no way Frank wasn't going to give Gerard a little rant about what was wrong and right, and how he was completely perfect as he was. "There's nothing wrong with you, Gee. Your parents shouldn't treat you like that, okay?" Gerard felt his heart flutter at the older's words, seeing his eyes filled with honesty and compassion only made it worse for the younger. How was he supposed to keep his heart from palpitating when Frank acted like that towards him? How could he keep himself from shaking? "You are perfect as you are. Please don't feel bad that you like boys, it's okay."   
  
Frank finished his little rant, and even if Gerard was hesitant, he still nodded at him. Frank felt himself get choked up at the sight of Gerard, he was so fragile and small and hurt. How could anyone treat someone so kind and beautiful, so badly? He still had his hand on the younger's cheek, so he started to rub his finger over the smooth skin, feeling how soft it truly was. Gerard just let it all go. He let more tears fall, just out of frustration, and jumped into Frank's chest, wrapping his arms around his body. The older boy was in shock for a few seconds before he snapped back into reality and put his arms around the younger's frame. He started tracing soothing circles on Gerard's back, feeling the younger wet his shirt with his tears. He couldn't care less about that. Frank noticed that it was freezing outside and that there was nothing but Gerard that could make him feel warm and cozy just by a simple hug.


	11. The Movie

Frank and his best friend were sitting at their table at lunch, chatting about their day and enjoying their meal. It was as if that one day Frank stormed out had never even happened. Patrick didn't care about it, he believed everyone had their off days and that shouldn't be something everyone is butthurt over.   
  
"How about Friday?" Frank suggested before taking a bite out of his sandwich. They were trying to find a day to hang out, do some stuff together because they hadn't been able to do so in a long time. Frank was pretty busy between studying, working at the coffee shop, and then there was Emma as well.   
  
"I can't on Friday." Patrick sighed, slamming his water bottle on the surface of the cheap table for dramatic effect. "I'm going to the movies with Pete." Frank rolled his eyes at that. Patrick had met this boy who recently moved in across his street. Apparently, he was a very nice kid.   
  
"I have yet to meet this wonderful friend you have made." Frank reminded the boy sitting opposite of him.   
  
"Sure, sure." The other waved his hand in a dismissive way. "How about we hang out on Saturday, then?"   
  
"I have singing lessons." Frank slurred out, mouth half-filled with food, which almost made Patrick choke on his water.   
  
"You? You have singing classes?" Patrick laughed, trying to cough up the droplets of water that were stuck in his throat at the same time. "You can barely stay on key for the 'Happy Birthday' song, dude."   
  
"I'm not the one taking the classes, asshole." Frank deadpanned, rolling his eyes for the second time. Patrick was still grinning, imagining his best friend attempting to sing. "Gerard is getting lessons from Ryan, and I usually stay over."   
  
"Why do you need to be there?" The blonde frowned, not really getting that part of the story. "Or is it an excuse to avoid me, Frankie?" Both boys grinned at each other.   
  
"Gerard's a little shy. I stay over so he's a bit more comfortable." Frank explained.   
  
"That kid really seems to like you," Patrick commented, lifting an eyebrow. Frank rolled his eyes for what seemed the millionth time that day.   
  
"Says the person who's keeping his new best friend a huge secret." He shot back.   
  
"Fine, you know what? How about we all go to the movies on Friday?" Frank frowned at that suggestion. "Pete, Gerard, you, and me."   
  
"Why? So we can go on our awkward double date together?" Frank laughed. How was that even going to work? He didn't know Pete, no one knew Gerard, and Gerard himself was a shy mess around people. Great, that sounds like an awesome idea.   
  
"Oh, come on!" Patrick whined, putting down his food on the table, Frank grimaced at that, lord knows how much bacteria and filth are on those dirty school tables. "It'll be fun, it's a nice way for us to all get to know each other."   
  
Somehow, for some idiotic reason, Frank ended up agreeing. And for some even stupider reason, so did everyone else.   
  
•••   
  
So there they sat, in the back row of the cinema, in a line of four people, popcorn and sodas in their laps and a fixated gaze on the enormous screen stretched out in front of them. The movie was some boring cliché action movie Frank despised. He kept on protesting in the line for the tickets, but nobody seemed to care about Frank's distaste for the film. Great. He had the biggest popcorn bag on his lap, even though he sat on the outside of the group, Gerard right beside him. The latter kept on putting his hands into the sticky buttery mess, pulling out popcorn bits one by one.   
  
"Just take a handful, Gee." Frank whispered, still baffled at the kid's strategy, it was simply ridiculous. The younger bit his lower lip and nodded, carefully putting his hand into the bag and pulling out a small handful. There was barely anything there. Frank wanted to slap himself across the face. "Here." He said, cupping both of his hands together and taking out a huge pile before dropping all of it on the younger's lap. Gerard softly giggled at the amount of popcorn laying over his shirt and pants.

Frank tried his best to focus on the movie, but the little squeals of surprise Gerard let out whenever something remotely jumpy happened were oddly distracting. Alright, he'll admit that it was cute. The older glanced over at Gerard, seeing his face get illuminated by the lights of the screen. His eyes were so focused on what was happening in the movie. The older looked back in front of him, catching himself staring for a bit too long.   
  
Gerard had worked extremely well yesterday at practice, Ryan was very impressed and kept telling him how good he already was for a beginner. Frank kept on staring and looking and spacing out whenever he listened to the younger harmonize. It was beautiful and captivating.   
  
His hand reached for the bag, but instead of feeling bits of popcorn, he felt soft smooth skin against his own. Frank snapped his head to the right, seeing Gerard stare at him wide-eyed. What was this, some sort of cheesy teenage movie? Damn Frank Iero and his luck. Both boys stared at each other for a while, the older felt himself blush at the contact, their hands still hovering inches above the bag, slightly touching. Frank gently put the bag away, reaching for Gerard's hand, silently intertwining their fingers and putting their clasped hands down together on the shared side of their chair. Frank's heart felt like it was going to explode. What was he doing? Why was he doing this? But most importantly, why did it feel heavenly? Gerard kept on biting and licking his lips, a nervous habit he practiced a fair bit too often. Why was Frank holding his hand? The other hand fit perfectly around his own, almost too perfectly. Frank felt his whole body heat up from the simple contact. Was he supposed to feel like that? Wasn't this what he should be feeling around Emma?   
  
Emma.   
  
Shit.   
  
He had a girlfriend and here he was, sitting in a dark cinema, holding hands with her brother and feeling like pulling the kid towards him and kissing him to no end. Maybe if he could pull Gerard discreetly onto his lap, no one would notice in the dark. God damn it, what was he even thinking?! He started to rub small soothing circles over the warm skin of Gerard's hand, noticing the younger shiver at the light contact.   
  
"Why are you doing that?" Gerard finally mustered up enough courage to ask his burning question. Frank's throat dried up instantly.   
  
"I-I don't know," He admitted, voice nothing above a whisper. "It just feels... Nice." Gerard slowly nodded, indicating that he agreed. Pete and Patrick were far too focused on their movie to notice anything that was happening to their left. They were the ones to have chosen the movie and seemed quite pleased with what it was. Good for them.   
  
Frank felt his hand start to sweat, so he gently pulled it away from Gerard, rubbing his palm over the fabric of his black jeans. The older looked ahead of him, absorbing nothing from the screen at all. He could see Gerard stare at him from the corner of his eye, burning a hole in his head.   
  
"Can I hold your hand again?" The younger asked, voice shy and embarrassed at the strange request. Frank just nodded, putting his hand on Gerard's leg, taking the younger's hand in his and letting them both rest on Gerard's thigh for the rest of the movie.


	12. The Plan

He knew this was a bad idea. What kind of idea was this even?   
  
Frank held the small bouquet of flowers in his hands. He didn't know what kind they were, just that they were some sort of pink. They weren't roses, were they? No, roses looked different. He had dashed into the only flower shop in his proximity and asked for a nice, cute, and romantic bouquet that was still at a reasonable price. This is what he got. They were just flowers anyway, who cared about the color or significance behind each plant? It was the effort and thought that counted, right? He tried his best to shelter the flowers from the rain that was pouring out of the sky. Okay, so it was going to be a sad, small, _and_ rainy bouquet. Great, perfect.   
  
Frank almost yelled out a victory chant when he finally saw Emma's house. He quickly knocked on the door, Mrs. Way opening it with a warm and welcoming smile. Fake. She was so hateful and evil, but Frank tried his hardest to give her a sweet grin back, ignoring all she did to her own son.   
  
"Frank! Come inside, honey." She said, opening the door even wider, allowing for the young boy to enter the house. "Oh, you brought flowers! How sweet of you!"   
  
"They're for Emma. I wanted to surprise her." Frank explained, his grip on the bouquet way too firm, it was his only way to relieve a bit of the anger rushing through his veins. His clothes and hair were still drenched in rain, the flowers soaked as well.   
  
"Emma isn't here at the moment." Her mom said, making Frank nod. He knew that already, he wasn't here for her anyway. "But she'll come back in half an hour, I believe. You can wait for her."   
  
"Great, I'll just wait in her room, then." He smiled, feeling like the stems of the flowers were about to snap under all the pressure he was putting on them.   
  
"Sure, call me if you need anything." She replied, leaving for the living room while Frank walked up the stairs and into Emma's bedroom.   
  
He took in a deep breath and let the bouquet fall on top of her bed, not really caring about damaging it any further. It already looked like it got ran over a couple of times. He silently left the room and walked down the hallway to the door he was looking for. He saw that the lock was removed, leaving a small hole in its place. At first, Frank thought it was weird, maybe it was broken and it needed to be replaced or something. But now he knew that it was only to strip Gerard of any sort of privacy that he wanted, and frankly deserved. Frank softly knocked on the door, a huge grin forming on his face without meaning to. He couldn't help it, no matter how much he bit down on his lower lip.   
  
"Yes?" Gerard replied, confused about the knocking. Since when did his mom knock on his door? She would usually just storm in no matter how late or early in the day. The older opened the door, entering Gerard's bedroom. The younger looked up from his English book, he was almost done with it, just four chapters left. At first, his mouth hung open, confused as to why Frank suddenly was there, but then the corners of his mouth tugged upwards, and he jumped up from his bed, dropping the novel on his way. "Frank!" He squealed, running over to the older and wrapping his arms around him.   
  
Frank saw the younger as his new close friend and felt very protective over him, he wanted to shelter him from anything bad that could happen to him. Almost like Gerard was the younger brother he never had. Well, he did feel an extreme urge to kiss the boy just yesterday at the movies, so maybe not brothers.   
  
"Hey, Gee." Frank smiled, hugging him back, feeling the younger bury his face into his neck the second he let out that nickname. He didn't mean to, it just kind of happened, but he liked it. It was cute. Like Gerard. Frank could feel Gerard's mouth near his neck, a shiver ran down his spine whenever the younger took a breath.   
  
"What are you doing here?" Gerard asked, letting go of Frank and taking a careful step back.   
  
"I just wanted to see you." The older shrugged, plopping down on the younger's bed. Gerard just stared at him wide-eyed in silence yet again. "You can sit down." Gerard quickly nodded, even though it was his own room and bed. He sat down on the comfortable surface next to Frank and hid his nervously shaking fingertips by pulling his sleeves over them.   
  
"Why did you want to see me?" The younger felt like his heart was going to burst at the rate it was going. He liked Frank, he really liked him. He liked his cute smile, the way he acted so sweet towards him, his hugs. And Gerard really wished that Frank liked him, too, but that seemed very unlikely, seeing as the older was presumably straight and in a relationship with his sister.   
  
"I like seeing you," Frank whispered, regretting his words immediately. Shit. His whole face turned a deep red, similar to Gerard's. No, he had a whole plan figured out, he wasn't supposed to make a fool out of himself. He came here to act cool and confident, flirt with the kid, and maybe even kiss him, just to get his confusion and frustration out of the way. Last night, he was kept awake by thoughts of Gerard and how soft his hands were even though they were all sticky and gross from the popcorn, how much he wanted to press his lips against the younger's. It was driving him insane. So here he was, to just get it over with, so he could forget about it once and forever. "You're really nice to look at." Okay, not a lie. Frank tried his best to remain calm and collected but it was so difficult with the younger looking at him like that. He had his eyes wide open, star-struck, his mouth hung slightly agape and Frank resisted the urge to just kiss him without any kind of thought, Gerard's cheeks and the tips of his ears were a nice shade of pink, nicer than those flowers laying on Emma's bed.   
  
"What are you doing?" Gerard whispered as Frank reached out for him, placing his hand over his hot cheek. They both stared into each other's eyes, knowing they both felt that tingle on their skin, that feeling of just craving more contact.   
  
"I don't really know," Frank admitted, biting onto his lower lip, caressing the younger's face gingerly. Their faces were inches away, their noses almost bumping into each other, breathing in the same air.   
  
"Why don't you just kiss me?" Gerard asked, voice barely above a whisper, almost choking on his own breath. Frank saw how much he wanted to in the kid's eyes, but they were still filled with fear despite his brave request. The older felt his breath hitch, their knees touching, Gerard's hands still trembling. Frank felt like he was going to pass out.   
  
The older silently nodded once, mustering up enough courage to just do it. Gerard was clearly asking for it, so why not? He inched even closer to the kid, his hand going from his cheek to the back of his neck, having a gentle but firm grip on it. He pulled him closer, almost sweating from how nerve-wracking this was. Come on, pull yourself together, Frank, it's not like you've never kissed someone before. True, but they were never like Gerard.   
  
The second their lips connected, Frank knew how screwed he was. Not only because of the fact that he was now officially cheating on his girlfriend, or that it was with a guy, or even specifically Gerard, but it was the fact that he felt something. A wave of electricity, a shock, maybe, there was no way to describe the feeling that went through his veins. He pulled back, confused and shocked as to why he felt his lips tingle and his whole body warm-up from the contact. He stared at Gerard, eyes wide open, mouth hanging agape, both of them knowing what had happened and how fucked up it all truly was. What was he supposed to do? Run away, act like it never happened, talk about the weather and how shitty it was? No.   
  
So he kissed Gerard again. He told himself that it was just to make sure, maybe he imagined that tingle. But sure enough, he pressed his lips against the younger's again and it felt equally as ethereal as the first one. Why was this happening? Why did he feel like staying like this forever? Frank felt like he was going insane, his lips moving in sync with Gerard's, the older's fingers threading through the bright red locks on the back of the other's head. His hair felt so soft and nice. Gerard's hands gripped Frank's shirt at the front, fumbling with them just before.   
  
Gerard was in a daze. This couldn't be happening, especially not with Frank, he was finally having his first kiss. He thought Frank was really attractive, he'd thought that for a while, a pretty long while. He remembered how heartbroken he felt when Emma announced to her family that she had a boyfriend and that it was Frank. Emma. His sister. Frank is dating his sister. The younger was snapped back into reality and pulled himself off Frank who was staring at the kid, confused as to why he would ever want to stop kissing and feeling this way. Gerard's lips were red and puffy, his hair a little messy from the gripping Frank had done. He looked absolutely breathtaking.   
  
"We... You... We can't." Gerard muttered out, a wave of guilt washing over him. Frank, on the other hand, didn't seem to care too much about Emma and her feelings. Sure, it was shitty, but all he could bring himself to care about was her brother. "You're with Emma. You can't hurt her." Frank thought about it and did feel a little ashamed about it. But it was Gerard, how could he not?   
  
"She won't know," Frank whispered, still as close to Gerard as before. The younger knew he was stupid for doing it, but he reconnected their lips a third time, feeling like he was floating right away. They were both pretty caught up with it until they heard the front door open and shut close downstairs, and they both jumped away from each other. Frank shooting him an apologetic look before fleeing the room and running into his girlfriend's. He leaned against a wall next to Emma's bed, his head thrown back, heartbeat racing, lips still tingling and feeling puffy from the kissing, a smile stretching on them at the thought.   
  
"Hey babe, my mom said you brought me flowers?" Emma's voice rang into his ears so he snapped his head towards the sound, his lips quickly forming into a tight line.


	13. The Flee

"How lovely of you to stay for dinner again, Frank." Mrs. Way beamed as she put down his plate in front of him while Emma was chatting with her father to his left. He hated that he was put into this situation again, but when Emma saw the flowers he bought for her, she jumped onto him and wouldn't let him go. She thanked him over a million times and insisted that he had to stay over for dinner. He silently took the plate and bit his lip, noticing the way Mrs. Way gripped onto Gerard's arm and whispered something into his ear.   
  
Frank still felt weird about what happened earlier. The younger sat to his right, not daring to make any eye contact with him. Frank began eating his food quietly as the family all started to talk. Well, all except for Tyler, of course, who sat silently next to him.   
  
"How was your first singing lesson, sweetie?" Mr. Way asked, smiling at his daughter sitting in front of him. Frank frowned at that and took a quick glance to his right, where Gerard tensed up and looked down, his bangs falling in front of his face while his knuckles turned white.   
  
"It was so fun." Emma squealed, happiness evident on her entire face. "The teacher said I was pretty good for my first lesson."   
  
"That's awesome, honey." Mrs. Way grinned, taking a bite from the food.   
  
Frank focused his attention on the boy sitting next to him who looked absolutely heartbroken and devestated upon hearing the conversation that was going on. Why was Emma allowed to take dance classes but Gerard wasn't? Frank saw the younger start to shake so he just put his hand on Gerard's thigh under the table, unable to think of another way to comfort him. The red-haired boy jumped slightly at the sudden contact but quickly eased up and shot quick glances towards Frank who kept on staring at him. Gerard sneakily put his shaking hand over Frank's, holding onto him. The older cracked a smile at him, making Gerard grin slightly as well, gripping onto his hand a little tighter.   
  
"He even got me flowers!" Emma exclaimed, latching onto Frank's upper arm, beaming at her parents with joy.   
  
Frank kind of scooted away, still holding onto Gerard's hand, feeling both of their palms starting to sweat together. His heart dropped when he saw the younger's eyes filled to the brim with tears, his hand letting go of Frank's as he fled from the kitchen table and ran away. Frank didn't even bother turning around to look at Emma and her family as he got up and followed Gerard's direction instantly. He heard Emma call him as he ran outside, obviously confused as to why he left so suddenly. But he felt some sort of sting in his chest when he noticed that no one bothered to yell out Gerard's name when he fled. Frank ran for the front door that just got slammed shut only seconds ago. He immediately noticed Gerard sitting on the sidewalk, head resting on his knees, shivering in the cold weather.   
  
Frank felt like he could breathe again the moment he put his hand on the younger's shoulder and made him look up at him. Tears rolling down his pink cheeks, teeth clattering as the icy wind blew harder in the dark empty street. The older sat down next to Gerard and felt the urge to quit everything, his whole relationship with Emma and the entire Way family. This was too much drama and secrets and now he got himself into this huge mess with Gerard. But the kid was the reason he couldn't bring himself to leave. So he stayed.   
  
"What's wrong?" It was a stupid question, honestly. Frank knew what was wrong, he had at least a vague concept of what Gerard had to put up with on a daily basis. Gerard shook his head and let it fall between his knees again.   
  
"Emma always wants what I want." He mumbled out, voice rough from the crying. His hair got all messed up from the wind that didn't seem to slow down. "And the cruel thing is she gets it, too. Every time."   
  
"What do you mean?" Frank knew what Gerard meant, he just wanted to hear him talk, to put words to how he felt.   
  
"For example," The younger started, sniffing softly before lifting up his head, staring at the other side of the road ahead of him, unable to make any sort of eye contact with the older. "I've always wanted to dye my hair red but I wasn't allowed to do it. I only could after Emma asked to bleach hers two years ago and immediately got her way. The dye's is the only thing I ever got, though. I guess I got lucky once, so I held onto it."   
  
Frank had a worried expression on his face ever since the topic of singing lessons was thrown into the conversation at dinner. He carefully put his hand on Gerard's shoulder, squeezing it gently to comfort him. He wanted to pull the younger into a tight hug and never let him go, kiss his tears away, but of course that was out of the question. Why was he even thinking like that?   
  
"It's always the same story," Gerard's eyes filled up with new tears as he kept an empty gaze on the road. "Hair dye, singing lessons, concert tickets, phones, you,..." Frank completely tensed up for a second at Gerard's whispered words, his grip on the younger's shoulder getting a little too tight for a bit.   
  
"Gerard?" Frank tried to get his attention, but he refused to look anywhere but right in front of him. "Gee?" He softly shook his shoulders, but younger persisted. It was only when Frank grabbed his face and turned it towards him that the red-haired boy finally had the courage to look at him, a fresh tear falling from his left eye. The older opened his mouth to say something, maybe a comforting lie or an empty promise, but he shut it quickly, realizing he didn't know where to start or where to go with the boy. He took in a deep breath and let his thumb brush away the wetness on his cheeks. "I'm sorry." It was the only thing he could say. Gerard nodded, looking down at the other's shoes, biting on his lip out of frustration.   
  
"It's fine. I'm sorry for bursting out of there and crying over nothing." The younger mumbled, using his sleeve to wipe away the remaining of his tears.   
  
"Don't be sorry," Frank whispered. He took notice of the thin clothing Gerard was wearing, the cold weather, the darkening sky, and the fact that Gerard was shivering harder with every passing minute. "You should head back inside, it's freezing."   
  
"No." He immediately shook his head, freeing himself from the older's grip and inching away. "I don't want- I can't go back in there right now, Frank."   
  
Gerard's face, his expression of pure sadness and hurt, his posture and frame, he simply looked so fragile and broken. Frank couldn't help but care a bit too much, and the words flew out of his mouth before he even really was able to grasp what he was saying. "Stay over at my place."   
  
What else was he supposed to do?   
  
•••   
  
Gerard looked a lot more comfortable in Frank's sweatpants and T-shirt, the sight made Frank feel fuzzy inside. He was sitting on the older's bed while playing around and looking at the clutter laying on his desk. The younger didn't hesitate for a second to accept Frank's offer, on the sole condition that his parents were okay with him staying for the night. Mrs. Iero immediately accepted upon seeing the pair shivering on her doorstep. So now they were both in pajamas in Frank's room while the older was on the phone with an angry and worried Emma. Gerard tried his best not to eavesdrop on the conversation the couple were having, but with the older boy stomping around the room, speaking at a pretty loud volume, it was hard not to pay attention.   
  
"Fine, alright. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Frank groaned, hitting the red button on his screen before dropping the phone on his desk, making the younger boy jump at the sudden noise. Frank looked awfully angry because of Emma.   
  
"Everything okay, Frank?" Gerard asked, worry lacing his voice as he looked up at the older with wide eyes.   
  
Frank didn't waste a second as he marched over to his bed and agressively pressed his lips onto the younger's. The red-haired boy immediately kissed him back, his hands shyly holding onto the front of his shirt, making Frank grab his hands to indicate that it was okay. Gerard seemed to relax at that reassurance, holding onto the older a little more firmly while Frank's fingers danced through the hairs on the back of Gerard's head. Frank sat down on the bed, momentarily breaking the contact he had with the younger, before he kissed him again, grabbing onto his thighs and pulling Gerard onto his lap.   
  
The younger's cheeks turned three shades redder at the bold move, his body tingling from the kiss and the way Frank's tongue started to ask for permission. Of course he let him. It felt heavenly, the way Gerard tasted, the way Frank wanted to explore every inch of the younger's mouth. The rush he felt cruising through his veins was euphoric, he'd never felt anything like the electricity tingling on his skin. He could stay like this forever.   
  
His hands gingerly slid down Gerard's back, smiling into the kiss as he noticed the younger shiver and get goosebumps from the touch. Frank let his hands rest on top of Gerard's hips, his grip firm as he kept him in place on his lap. The younger had his arms around Frank's neck, adoring every second their lips spent glued to each other.   
  
He didn't care anymore. He didn't care a single bit about Emma and her feelings. So what she's going to be heartbroken if she finds out? It was Gerard's turn to be selfish for once, he wanted Frank to himself. Either way, Emma was never going to find out, because as long as she didn't, he could spend that time kissing and being with Frank. The older broke the kiss, letting his forehead rest against Gerard's as they both shyly smiled at each other, their hands still caressing over the other's skin. Frank silently shook his head to himself as he placed a kiss to the top of Gerard's head, the younger burying his face into the other's neck. The dark-haired boy wrapped his arms around him, softly rocking them both back and forth, the younger boy was still sitting in his lap, a large smile decorating his face, which was hidden in Frank's chest. Gerard sure was something else.


	14. The Feelings

Frank was half asleep. He knew he should wake up, he somehow had a bad feeling in his gut, but decided to ignore the warnings his body sent him, and kept his eyes shut, drifting in and out of a light slumber. He couldn't help it, his bed felt so warm with the presence pushed up against his chest, breathing softly in and out, the fiery locks tickling his face. It felt far too good and perfect for him to snap awake and start his day. Because he knew that the moment he got up, was the moment this would all be over, and he wasn't ready for that yet. But he didn't really have a choice when his door slammed open and he heard a loud voice call out his name, although it quickly dimmed down.   
  
"Frankie!" Patrick burst into his friend's bedroom, immediately regretting what he did when he saw the scene in front of him. "Oh, oh okay." His voice quieted down a notch as he took a few hesitant steps backward, taken aback when he noticed Frank wasn't laying alone in his bed but was rather laying there with that weird kid Gerard, his hand wrapped around him, their bodies far too close to one another. Frank shot awake and out of his bed when his brain finally understood what was going on. Gerard groaned in annoyance as he slowly sat up in the bed, rubbing his eyes like a child in order to wake up.   
  
"Patrick." Frank tried to catch his breath, feeling like he was about to have a heart attack. He honestly wanted nothing more than to vanish right now.   
  
"What? What is going on here, Frank?" Patrick asked, a confused look all over his face. He was quite disturbed, to say the least.   
  
"Gerard had to stay over for the night." Frank blurted out, grasping for any type of excuse to get rid of this awkward feeling, and not get any suspicion around him and Gerard. Patrick was still frowning, obviously waiting for the rest of the explanation. "I only have one bed, you know that."   
  
"I-I'm just gonna go home, now." Gerard whispered to Frank as he walked through the pair, obviously highly uncomfortable. He was still wearing the older's clothes as he fled the room.   
  
"I understand it looks very weird, but..." Frank struggled to explain himself. "It's not what it looks like or anything, I-"   
  
"It's fine, Frank. I don't care, it's none of my business." Patrick mumbled, but was obviously still as confused and disturbed about the entire situation. "I just came to invite you to get some ice cream with Pete." Frank let out a heavy sigh and told his friend he was busy for the day, not feeling like seeing any more of Patrick for a while.   
  
•••   
  
The coffee shop had a quiet day yet again. Only a few exhausted students that desperately needed their dose of caffeine after their long classes were scattered across the room. Frank was pretty bummed about the fact that he had to abandon Gerard for his singing lessons from Ryan, but he didn't have a choice. He was just praying the kid wasn't too terrified around his instructor.   
  
"Tired?" He heard his other coworker ask, smiling at him as he walked to the counters to dry them off. Frank just stood in the middle of the way, daydreaming while worrying about a certain red-haired boy. His coworker, Josh, was a pretty okay guy. He obviously preferred Ryan because he was closer to him, but he had a day off today and decided to spend it harmonizing with Gerard. So instead of Ryan, he was working with Josh right now. He wasn't too familiar with the guy but he knew he was kind, they did hang out a few times.   
  
"Yeah, a little." Frank admitted, sighing and roughly rubbing his face with his hands to shake himself awake.   
  
"What's wrong? Too busy partying?" Josh joked, remembering the time they saw each other at some party a few weeks ago. Josh thought Frank was a pretty quiet guy who mostly kept to himself, but apparently, he was wrong about that, or maybe he was so outgoing because of the alcohol, who knew? Frank snorted and started rearranging the cups.   
  
"Nah." He sighed. "Just school, I guess."   
  
"You sure it's just school? Because apparently, you've been feeling a little blue for a while." Josh questioned, turning around to face his colleague while leaning against the counter he was supposed to clean.   
  
"How would you know?" Frank lifted his right eyebrow, not sparing the other a glance, his eyes glued to the different sized cups.   
  
"Ryan." The other simply said, making Frank nod immediately.   
  
"Right." He sighed again, putting a cup down with a little too much force, making Josh cringe at the thought of the older breaking something and possibly cutting himself.   
  
"Trouble in paradise with your princess?" Josh asked teasingly, lifting both of his brows as Frank twisted towards him, a little pissed off at the comment.   
  
"Aren't you supposed to do your job or something?" Frank shot back, happy that there were no customers waiting in line for their orders to witness this. Otherwise, he'd probably get fired or something.   
  
"I knew it." Josh snickered, shaking his head. "I swear, girls are too complicated, guys are way better."   
  
Frank froze at the other boy's words, his hand holding onto the clean cup that he was supposed to stack. He had heard from Ryan that their coworker wasn't straight, and that, apparently, he even had a boyfriend he wouldn't shut up about. But he kind of forgot about it, and the fact that that sentence came out of Josh's mouth, made Frank's blood turn cold. How ironic. The universe definitely hated him.   
  
"I guess." Frank coughed, finally putting the cup down as Josh turned around and continued with his counters. He didn't feel comfortable talking to his coworker anymore and spent the next few minutes alone with his cups.   
  
As if the world just wanted the absolute worst for him, about fifteen minutes of silence later, two silhouettes entered the shop, one loud laughs and shouts, and the other hushed words and soft giggles. Frank could recognize that giggle in a heartbeat, and his head immediately popped up, smiling and waving at a blushing Gerard who walked with Ryan towards the counter.   
  
"Ry." Josh smiled, marching to the pair to take their order. "What're you doing here?"   
  
"Taking my apprentice out for a well-deserved cup of coffee after a long singing lesson." Ryan grinned, chatting to his friend. Frank and Gerard kept stealing glances at each other, both wearing shy smiles and red blushes on their faces.   
  
"Why don't you two stop staring and actually talk to each other?" Josh teased while Ryan kept a knowing smirk on his face, looking at the pair.   
  
"I actually know him." Frank blurted out, holding two cups in his hands and moving them around a little too violently.   
  
"Sure." His coworker rolled his eyes. "While you're there, why don't you make our friends two caramel frappes?" Frank took in a deep breath and started working on the drinks.   
  
"How's it going with Tyler?" Ryan asked, trying to catch up with his friend and what he has been up to since their last chat.   
  
"Peachy." Josh grinned, obviously very happy and content about his relationship with his boyfriend. "Our anniversary's coming up."   
  
"Anniversary?" The red-haired boy suddenly piped up, immediately feeling guilty for having intervened in the pair's conversation. But he couldn't help his curiosity upon hearing the guy say a male name and the word 'anniversary' in the same sentence.   
  
"Yeah, Josh and his boyfriend have been together for almost two years now." Ryan explained, making Josh smile proudly and nod his head in approval. Gerard's eyes lit up at the new information. Ryan's friend was gay? And he was in a relationship? And he had friends? How was that even possible? Frank turned around and finally joined the three guys with the two beverages in hand, giving them to the pair on the other side of the counter.   
  
"Oh." Gerard's mouth hung open, surprise and admiration taking over him. "That's great, congratulations." Josh nodded thanks and focused his attention back on Ryan, attempting to catch up with him once more.   
  
Frank had his hands propped on the counter, leaning against the furniture with an awkward feeling in his entire being. Gerard held his cup with both hands and silently drank it up, staring down at the shop's tile flooring. The older still felt weird with the younger around, especially since the last time he saw the kid was when Patrick walked in on them sleeping together.  
  
"Uhm, I'll bring you your clothes back as soon as possible," Gerard mumbled, biting on the plastic straw in his coffee cup.   
  
"Don't worry about it, it's fine," Frank whispered back, discomfort still present with the other two people talking right next to them.   
  
"No, I should bring it back. I have the clothes in a bag in Ryan's car." Gerard explained, a little too persistent about bringing the items to Frank.   
  
"I'll go get them, then." The older concluded.   
  
"No, I should bring them over to your house." The younger pressed on, making the other frown in confusion.   
  
"I can do it myself, Gerard." Frank's brows furrowed as he looked at the younger bite down on the straw, completely deforming it.   
  
"Maybe I just want to see you, again." Gerard mumbled, the words barely audible as he finally looked up at the dark-haired boy, their eyes locking.   
  
"O-oh." Frank breathed. "You want to hang out again."   
  
"Obviously." Gerard blushed, eyes communicating every emotion he wanted to speak, but couldn't. "I really enjoy spending time with you, Frank. And I-I hope you do, too."   
  
"Of course I do." Frank grinned, looking down at the counter separating the two. "I like you, Gerard."   
  
"Great." It was the younger's turn to have his cheeks pulled upward, matching Frank. "Because I like you, too."


	15. The Dyeing

A low grunt left Frank's throat as he tapped the back of his pen against the open notebook. A few words were visible on it, but the sheet was mostly decorated by blue swirls and doodles, a few sentences here and there violently scratched away.   
  
"Still struggling?" A soft voice asked from beneath the papers, making Frank lift them up, revealing Gerard's head laying in his lap. The older let out a heavy sigh as he threw his attempted lyrics to the side, the papers landing on the soft surface of his bed.   
  
"Yeah." Frank breathed, looking the younger in the eyes as he gingerly caressed his cheek. "I just can't figure out the second verse, I've been struggling with it for a while. I don't even know what's wrong, but it doesn't feel right."   
  
"Maybe you shouldn't force it too much," Gerard advised, his brows furrowing in concentration. "You should find some inspiration."   
  
"Easier said than done." The dark-haired boy complained, slumping against the wall behind him, Gerard's head shifting in his lap. Frank started threading his hands through the kid's shiny locks, the hair feeling wonderfully soft to his fingers. It was insane how quickly Frank felt drawn to the younger, this couldn't be normal. But here they were yet again, a week after their first kiss, hanging out in the older's room and just chatting. Simply having Gerard around him to talk or even to sit in silence while he worked on something somehow soothed the older. He still didn't have any sort of explanation for it, but he would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy Gerard's company and the way he made his heart flutter. "Your roots are getting bad."  
  
"I know I have to re-dye it," Gerard sighed, he was well aware of the growing dark brown color peeking out of his scalp. Even the once fiery bright red parts were fading into an almost peachy color. "I kind of wanna do another color, but I'll wait until after Emma has hers done from the salon on Saturday, so I don't end up with the same thing as her."  
  
"Emma's dyeing her hair?" Frank frowned to which Gerard nodded. Why didn't she mention that to him? Well, he did remember his girlfriend talking about hair a lot this past week, maybe he wasn't paying the best attention to her never-ending stories.   
  
"Some bright color, I believe. Maybe a pink, I don't remember." His words were mumbled, obviously still angry about the fact that she had to 'copy' her brother in some sort of way.   
  
"Maybe you should dye your hair black, then," Frank suggested, his hand going from the younger's strands towards his cheek. "You know, to stand out and do something different." Gerard's eyes lit up at that idea, a warm smile spreading across his lips.   
  
"Even though you've been stuck on those same lyrics for weeks, you're quite a genius, Frank." Gerard whispered his eyes the form of crescents, happiness sparking in them. "Let's do it."  
  
•••   
  
While Emma was busy with her weekly singing class, Frank decided to come over and 'wait for her to come back', spending that hour in Gerard's room. Nothing exciting happened, they just talked a lot, Gerard's smile seemed to make more appearances as time went on and Frank couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat anytime he'd notice the younger's plump lips tug upwards and his eyes transform into moon shapes. It frightened him quite a bit, how attached he got to Gerard in such a short time period. Frank smiled as the younger let out a bubbly giggle because of a stupid comment the older made. He felt his throat tighten and desperately tried to get rid of it by swallowing.   
  
"Gerard? What's all that noise?" Emma's annoyed voice rang from the open door that Gerard decided to keep like that for some reason. Probably because of his parents. "Frank?" His girlfriend's brows furrowed together.   
  
"Hi, babe." Frank turned towards her, putting up his most convincing smile. Gerard felt a sting at his chest from the nickname and warmth radiating off the older's grin. "I was waiting for you with Gerard."   
  
"I can see that, yeah." She gritted her teeth, shooting a few death glares towards her brother. "Frank, I really need to talk to you right now." Gerard swallowed audibly and ducked his head down, knowing his sister was going to complain to her boyfriend about him. He knew the warnings that she was going to give Frank, and he knew that she will prevent the two from spending any sort of time together.   
  
"Alright, sure." The oldest boy got up with a fake confused expression, he knew the direction this was taking. He disappeared into the hallway and then into Emma's bedroom, leaving the younger sitting on his bed all alone. Frank leaned against a bare wall in his girlfriend's room, lifting an eyebrow into her direction, silently urging her to spit out what she so desperately wanted to tell him.   
  
"I need you to stop." She finally let out, frustration evident on her twisted face. "You need to stop being around Gerard."   
  
"Why?" Was his simple question to her request.   
  
"I already told you! He's sick, Frank! He's mentally ill." She insisted, flapping her arms around in violent movements, her newly dyed pink hair whipping into all directions. "It's not okay to stay around him."   
  
"How? He seems totally normal to me." Frank shrugged, folding his hands over his chest.   
  
"He... He's a homosexual, Frank." She whispered, terror in her eyes as she dared to say the unholy word. Emma felt dirty and embarrassed, almost feeling the need to wash her tongue with a bar of soap. This might ruin things with her boyfriend, but she won't let her brother's illness get in the way of her relationship.   
  
"Alright." Her boyfriend lifted his shoulders.   
  
"He's dangerous, babe," Emma mumbled. Frank thought it was quite disturbing how his girlfriend was so terrified of love. "You can't be around him. I don't know what he's capable of." Images of Gerard's smile and his lips pressed to him flashed through Frank's mind, and he tried his best to suppress a grin. He knew exactly what the younger was capable of. He got pulled back in reality when Emma wrapped her arms around his waist, putting her head on his chest. "I'm so sorry he is like that." She whimpered into his shirt, and Frank tried his best to resist the urge to push her off and slap her. He took in a deep breath, closed his eyes, and reminded himself that he couldn't show too much affection towards Gerard. He couldn't ruin things with Emma. So he calmed himself down and hesitantly hugged her back.   
  
"It's fine," He whispered. "I'll stay away from him." Gerard's eyes were filled to the brim with tears as he stood in the hallway, his feet bare against the cold surface of the floor, hoodie pulled over his black hair. He looked Frank straight in the face, lips quivering and vision blurring. The older's face was one of regret and hurt, mouthing a gentle 'I'm sorry' to Gerard who just shook his head and violently swept his sleeve over his eyes, trying to get rid of the stinging of his tears. A soft sob left his trembling lips, making the younger slap a hand over his mouth as he ran away, afraid his sister or even Frank had heard his cries. He sprinted into his room, slamming the door shut and kneeling down in front of it, knees pulled to his chest as he softly sobbed in his quiet, empty room.


	16. The Reveal

Frank felt the beads of sweat collecting on his back as his shirt began to cling onto his skin. He ran forwards, dribbling the basketball on his way towards the net, his breath was heavy and fast. He suddenly stopped in his tracks, jumped up, and threw the ball towards his target, but the object bounced right off and fell onto the pavement.  
  
"What's going on with you, Frank? That's, like, the sixth time in a row!" Patrick exclaimed, running after the ball to pick it up, before carrying the object snuggly under his armpit.  
  
"I don't know..." He mumbled as a reply, resting his hands on his knees and focusing his eyes on the ground. His breathing was out of control.   
  
"You didn't use to be so bad." His friend continued. "Maybe your height is a problem after all." The other teased, grinning in front of him. Frank let out a soft chuckle at that and flashed him a crooked smile. "You're one to talk."  
  
"Seriously, though." Patrick coughed, his smile falling from his lips instantly. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Stress?" He tried, even though he was almost certain that his best friend would see right through that.  
  
"Right," He mumbled, sitting down. "Are you sure it has nothing to do with that Gerard kid?" Frank's head snapped up at the mention of the black-haired boy's name. He hadn't heard from him in over a week, he didn't even know how to approach the situation anymore. Every time he thought about Gerard, all he would picture in his head would be his small body staring with sad eyes at him and Emma, tears brimming and threatening to fall down his puffy cheeks. It tore his heart into a million pieces every single time. And that sob he let out... It still rung clear as day in his ears.  
  
"What do you mean?" Frank asked, involuntarily answering the other's question.  
  
"I mean that ever since that kid has appeared out of nowhere, you seem to always be... Conflicted? Confused, I guess?" Patrick tried his best to explain what he had been noticing for these past few weeks. But it was hard to explain something he didn't quite understand himself. "You just look lost."  
  
"Maybe I am a bit." The other admitted, copying his friend by sitting down on the ground in the middle of the empty basketball court.  
  
"Why?" Patrick wondered. "You know you can talk to me, right? I'm your friend." Frank suddenly felt bad, that sentence was like a nauseating, twisting punch to his gut. His confusing feelings obviously had an effect on his best friend who looked at him with concern in his eyes, desperately trying to pass the message that he meant no harm, his voice deliberately lowered to a warm and soft tone. He realized that everyone related to this situation would be affected negatively by it. Emma and Gerard would get their hearts broken, Frank would end up all alone and miserable with his reputation ruined, Patrick suffers silently in the unknown, his parents would be disappointed in him and Gerard would get outed and probably shamed by his entire family.  
  
"I don't think I can talk about this, though." He mumbled, nervously chewing on his bottom lip. His voice was soft and breaking on a few of the vowels he was barely able to pronounce.  
  
"Of course you can, silly." His friend insisted, still keeping that concerned look on his face. This must be something serious if Frank was so hesitant to explain anything.  
  
"I like Gerard." The dark-haired boy suddenly let out, refusing to lift his eyes from the pavement out of shame.  
  
"Sure, I mean, he's your girlfriend's brother and you two seem to get along marvelously well. That's a good thing, though. I mean-" He suddenly stopped right in the middle of his rant when Frank looked up at him with tears in his eyes before dropping his head down again. It caused him to have an immediate lump in his throat. Patrick kind of knew what the older was implying, but decided to take the innocent approach anyways. "Oh, yeah..." He then whispered, his voice going from an excitedly high pitched tone to a low and sorrowful one in only a few seconds.  
  
"I don't know... I-I don't know what to do." Frank whispered, his eyes burning as he tried desperately to keep in the tears. "He's just... So precious and vulnerable." Patrick bit down on his lower lip and frowned, trying to figure out what he thought about the situation. Obviously, he wouldn't care if Frank was gay or bi or whatever. But the fact that it was Gerard his friend had feelings for, was kind of an issue. "They're evil." Frank mumbled, looking up to his friend just as a tear rolled down his flushed cheek. A spark of anger appeared in his eyes seconds later.  
  
"Who are?" Patrick asked, feeling his heart break at the sight of his friend in so much pain.  
  
"His family is." Frank started, ready to expose them all for the filthy assholes they really were. "His dad, his mom, even fucking Emma! They're all so messed up and evil. They hate him, they hate him because he's gay!" The boy has to compose himself for a bit, violently shoving his sweaty hair out of his face. "They treat him like a freak, like he isn't even human or a part of their family. It's so twisted it makes me wanna throw up, Patrick."  
  
"I..." Patrick began, not sure where he was gonna even go with his sentence.  
  
"They make me sick." Frank cried out. "I can't even look Emma in the face..."  
  
"I don't know what to say..." Patrick's brows furrowed, confliction evident in his entire face. Frank's throat hurt from holding in his tears, his eyes stung and his whole body began to ache and tremble. He didn't wanna be a weakling. Damn it, why was he even crying about Gerard like this? He barely knew the kid. Another tear rolled down his cheeks. Weak. The last time he even cried was when his mom told him his dad had passed away, and that was years ago. He couldn't look at Patrick, he was scared of what he might read on the younger's face. Disgust, maybe? Or he could just be disappointed in him. Scared, even? Anger, numbness, who knows. He didn't even know how to react to him, and Patrick always had something to say.  
  
"Do you love Emma?" Patrick suddenly spoke up, ripping the older out of his ongoing mental break down.  
  
"I... I honestly don't know if I can after what I know about her." He replied frankly. "How could I love someone that twisted and evil?" Patrick's face contorted into a few different emotions before he asked another question.  
  
"Do you love Gerard, then?"  
  
"I-I don't know... I barely know what's going on, Patrick. I... I know that I care about him." Frank answered, his whole body shaking from this. Couldn't his body just stay still, damn it?  
  
"Well, are you gay now?" Patrick asked.  
  
"I said I don't know!" Frank yelled, tears falling down onto the ground, his knuckles turned white from the way he clenched them. His face was red and blotchy from the frustration, hurt, and sadness he felt. He could hear his heartbeat drum in his ears. It was all just too much for him. Patrick jumped at the older's reaction, swallowing the lump in his throat away.  
  
"Don't yell at me..." He whispered, hugging his frame.  
  
"Patrick, I'm sorry, I..." Frank looked for the right words to say, the right sentences to use to accurately describe his feelings. Nothing felt right. "I just don't want you to hate me and leave me." The other's heart broke again as he looked at the dark-haired boy, his eyes seemed to carry an endless supply of tears.  
  
"I-I don't hate you, I'm just trying to understand," Patrick mumbled. "You can't expect me to understand and support you when you suddenly throw shit like this at me. I don't... I'm just a bit confused."  
  
"I get that, Patrick, I do." Frank exclaimed, nodding his head at his friend.  
  
"Why didn't you just tell me? I thought... I thought I was your friend and you trusted me." Patrick continued to mumble, he didn't look at Frank anymore, his head was cast downwards. He was still trying to figure it all out but he was unable to come to a concrete conclusion. He honestly just felt hurt that his friend just decided to keep this from him.  
  
"I do trust you!" Frank instantly replied, shocked to hear his friend react this way. Patrick knew he trusted him. "You're my best friend, Patrick. I... I didn't even know what was going on myself. In fact, I still don't. It happened so quickly without me really grasping it."   
  
"Yeah, I get that." The blonde finally looked up at his friend. "But as your buddy, I have to be honest with you and let you know that what's going on is wrong. And I don't mean wrong as in 'you like a boy', I mean wrong as in 'you like Gerard specifically'." Frank swallowed the ever-growing lump in his throat, but it kept reappearing. His body was still shaking although it had calmed down a little bit.  
  
"I know." He mumbled. "I shouldn't have kissed him."  
  
"What?! You kissed him?!" Patrick screamed so loud that a bird violently flew out of a tree out of fear behind them. Frank leaped forward to slam his palm onto his friend's shocked open mouth to keep him from shouting any further.  
  
"Shhh! Don't yell like that!" He hissed, finally removing his hand from Patrick's face. "Yeah, maybe I did a couple of times."  
  
"A couple of times?!" He whisper-shouted, his eyes almost popping out of his skull. "Are you insane?! You're absolutely screwed, my dude."  
  
"Shhh, shhh! I get it!" The musician batted his hands into the other's face, trying to shush him. "I know it's wrong and that I'm kind of cheating on Emma, but-"  
  
"Kind of?! You full-on are." Patrick interrupted. "You're cheating on your girlfriend with her younger brother, Frankie."  
  
"Well, when you put it like that it just sounds awful and messed up." Frank scratched the back of his neck out of shame.  
  
"It is, though." Patrick grimaced as he mumbled out the words. It was silent for a bit as the two boys quietly observed each other. The wind was starting to blow harder as the sun slowly lowered with every passing minute, casting golden light all over the basketball court. "What are you planning on doing now?" The blonde asked softly, making the other lift his shoulders.  
  
"I frankly don't have a clue. I just don't wanna hurt anyone, especially not Gerard. The kid's been through enough." Frank sighed. "But I do like him. Ugh, who am I kidding? I more than like him. But I don't really see a future with him, though. Like, how are we ever going to be together when I'm dating his sister and his family are all homophobic pieces of trash that remove him from all family pictures out of shame?"  
  
"Really?! That's so messed up, man." Patrick whispered before shaking his head and taking in a deep breath. "Listen, this might be the worst advice ever, but what else would you expect, right? Go tell him how you feel and figure it out together."  
  
"What? That's just going to complicate it all! Besides, I haven't spoken to him in, like, a week." He grunted, slumping down on himself.  
  
"Even more of a reason to go, then!" Patrick suddenly shot up and forcefully pulled his friend up by his arms. "You're gonna go over to his house and talk to him about your feelings and worries like a man!" The blonde tried to hype and cheer him up, and he did manage to pull a chuckle out of him.  
  
"Alright, alright. I'll try." He finally complied, a crooked smile softly traced on his lips.  
  
"That's the spirit!" His friend shoved his fist in the air and jumped up.   
  
"So you're not mad at me anymore?" Frank wondered, his brows furrowed together and his eyes full of hope. Patrick instantly calmed down and took on an honest expression.  
  
"I was never mad at you, Frank. I was just confused. I still kind of am, to be honest." He twisted his face into a grimace while tilting his head to the side. "You'll have to explain the entire situation to me later with all its juicy details."  
  
"Don't worry, I will." Frank laughed. "Thanks, bud."  
  
"Don't thank me, now go see that weirdo!" Frank softly chuckled yet again as he made his way out of the court and ran for three blocks until he finally reached the right house. His breath was caught in his throat as he knocked on the door and it slowly opened.


	17. The Sunset

"Frank? What're you doing here?" A confused Gerard stood in front of him, already dressed in his comfy pajamas. Other than the confusion, Frank noticed a hint of sadness in his eyes. The older was relieved that Gerard was the one who opened the door instead of Emma or one of their parents. He didn't know what excuse he'd have to come up with to be able to see the boy.  
  
"Uhm, I..." Frank started, already feeling his mouth dry up. Shit, how was he ever supposed to apologize and express his feelings so openly to him when he could barely form a cohesive sentence right now? "I want to talk to you." He finally managed to utter.  
  
"Alright, go ahead." The other boy simply replied as he shifted his weight onto his right foot and defensively crossed his arms over his chest.  
  
"Could we maybe go for a walk?" Gerard's face relaxed a little bit as he dropped his arms to his sides and sighed.  
  
"Sure." He whispered as he grabbed a pair of shoes from the ground and put them on his feet before slipping on a warm coat.  
  
The two boys walked in silence through the streets of their town. The wind was blowing gently as it messed up their hair. The sky was turning darker and darker as they marched on, Frank purposefully avoiding the basketball court and Patrick's house. He didn't want the other to spy on them. But to be frank, he was probably still snooping around, walking only a few feet behind them to eavesdrop on their future conversation. That's just the curious little shit Patrick was.  
  
"So what did you wanna talk about?" Gerard murmured, tugging on his sleeves to keep his hands warmer. Frank resisted the urge to reach for them to warm them up with his own.  
  
"Us, I guess." Frank replied with a shrug, stealing quick glances to look at the younger boy walking next to him. He noticed the distance Gerard kept, and it frankly broke his heart a little.  
  
"Well, what about us?" The black-haired boy wondered, already starting to feel nervous. He was certain the older boy was about to cut him off entirely, and he didn't know how he would handle that. He'll continue his relationship with his sister and forget all about him. They'll get married, probably have a few kids and a dog, and live a long happy life together. He wanted to support Frank, he cared about him so much. But how was he supposed to be happy for him if every time he'd look at him with Emma he felt like was being suffocated? Like his insides were being torn apart. Frank was about to leave him all alone again and he was absolutely terrified of that.  
  
"I like you, Gerard." Frank said, his eyes glistening with tears as he abruptly stopped in his tracks, forcing the younger to stand still and look at him. Alright, that wasn't what he was expecting at all. Frank liked him? Him? Actually? Or was this just some sort of sick joke? Because there was no way that Frank, out of all people, liked him!  
  
"You... Like me?" Gerard whispered so softly that the words were barely audible.  
  
"Yeah," The older breathed, violently wiping his eyes with his bare arm before giving him a sad smile. "Of course I do." Gerard was so lost. 'Of course'? He said it like it was something obvious. Well, maybe it was, but not to him. He just thought Frank was confused about his feelings, maybe he was going through a rough patch of his relationship with Emma and needed to take his mind off that. Gerard would understand that and probably wouldn't even be angry at him for using him in that way because that just meant he got to kiss Frank and spend time with him, and that's all he ever wanted.  
  
You see, Gerard had a sort of a crush on the older boy for a while. He'd notice him in the hallways of the school, laughing with some of his friends, and he'd always get these butterflies in his stomach at the sight of him. But then one day, Emma was added to that friend group and Gerard grew kind of jealous at that. Emma had the courage to hang around him, she was interesting, talented, funny, and smart enough to hang out with him. And he was just Gerard. There was no way Frank would ever talk to him. A few months later, Emma excitedly announced to their family that she was dating this cute guy named Frank. It shattered his heart into a million little pieces. Of course Emma got Frank. She got everything Gerard ever wanted. But Gerard tried to push those negative feelings aside and just accept the fact that this was just how things were going to be. He tried his best to tune out his sister whenever she spoke about her boyfriend at the dinner table. Slowly but surely, he kind of got over the boy. Well, that was until he showed up in his room to call him down for dinner. He didn't even have the courage to spin his chair around and face him. He was certain that if he'd see the other's face he'd fall for him, and he'd blush and get nervous, and Frank would immediately think he was a creep. But then his mom embarrassed him at the dinner table again. Of course she did. She always had to treat him like a monster. He kind of was, though, he felt so guilty for feeling attracted to Frank. It ate him up inside. He was dirty and filthy and gross, and he would never be able to be with someone as beautiful and pure as Frank. As if things could get any worse for him, his mom forced him to share a room with the older boy. She made sure to go on a long rant filled with many warnings about how he better not dare to try anything on Frank otherwise she'd send him off to that camp she often talked about. Gerard agreed, because he had no choice and because he never planned to do anything to the other boy. He would never want to taint Frank with his filth. But then his heart got all fluttery because Frank complimented him and smiled so brightly. He already knew he was beautiful, but now he'd discovered that he was also nice, and that was the exact moment he knew he was in trouble. That's the moment he absolutely fell for Frank.  
  
"I-I like you, too," Gerard stuttered, making Frank's face snap up and their eyes meet. Both boys felt like they could breathe a little bit easier now. "And it scares me," He admitted. "With my parents and Emma and-"  
  
"Fuck Emma!" He yelled out, flinging his arms around as a single tear rolled down his left cheek. Gerard jumped a little at the other boy's outburst. "She's a bitch, anyway."  
  
"But you're dating her." Gerard didn't even feel bad that some guy was calling his sister a bitch because she kind of was sometimes.  
  
"I know, I'll dump her... But I wanna spend more time with you and I'm sorry that I kind of ignored you for a week." The musician mumbled.  
  
"It's fine, I sort of avoided you, too," Gerard admitted, chuckling softly. "But I have no clue how we're gonna see each other when we have to deal with the whole Emma situation."  
  
"Yeah..." He started to chew on his bottom lip as he thought about some sort of solution. "How about I keep dating her and spend time with you when I can? That way, I have some sort of cover and excuse to come over and see you."  
  
"So your plan is to continue what we've already been doing?" Gerard asked, making Frank nod. The younger grimaced a bit at the thought of that, having to share the dark-haired boy with his sister. But he knew he had no other choice. It was either let him date Emma and spend time with him or break them apart and never see the boy again. And he knew he couldn't let Frank go. "Alright, then." He finally agreed, because what was the alternative?  
  
"I'm sorry that there's no other way," Frank whispered, his eyes turned into a sad expression. Gerard shook his head and reached for the older boy's hand, softly holding it in his as he looked down at it. Their hands fit together perfectly and he couldn't help but smile at their intertwined fingers. There was a silent understanding that this was just how it was. "Let's be cheesy and look at the sunset." Frank suggested, making the younger boy look up and grin at him.  
  
They both made their way to a nearby bench and sat down next to each other, staring ahead of them in peaceful silence as the sky looked like a watercolor painting with its pink, orange, and red hues mixing in front of them. Gerard let a tear escape from his eye as he thought about the many times to come when he'll have to look at his love with someone else. But that's just the price he had to pay. At least he had some part of Frank. He looked at him to his right as he held in his breath. Frank was still staring straight ahead of him at the sun lowering behind the hills, casting a golden light on his skin. He reached for his hand and held it tightly in his, wishing he could stay like this forever. This was absolute perfection. No one else existed around them. It was just Gerard, Frank, and the sunset.


	18. A Few Drinks

Frank let out a few frustrated grunts as he crumpled up the paper laying on his knees and threw it behind him.  
  
"Hey! You better clean that shit up, otherwise my mom's gonna be pissed!" Ryan shouted over the blasting music coming from his radio. Who even still has a big-ass unpractical radio nowadays?  
  
"Fine." He shrugged, getting up from his friend's sofa and picking up the ball of paper before shooting it into the trash can by the wall.  
  
"Thank you!" Frank sat back down on his seemingly permanent spot on the couch, immediately starting to scribble something on the fresh piece of paper in front of him. It did have a few marks on it from him pressing onto his pen too hard on the previous page. "Let's take it from the beginning, alright? Five, six, seven, eight." Ryan instructed, making Frank drop the pen with the papers onto his lap as he eyed the scene playing out in front of him.  
  
Gerard's eyebrows were slightly furrowed in concentration as he concentrated on Ryan's instrumental playing in the background. He was as enchanting as ever. Out of nowhere, it was like a lightbulb went on in Frank's brain. He quickly wrote down the words flooding his head, and when he was done, he proudly reread the lyrics he somehow managed to create out of thin air.  
  
"Out of your writer's block, I see!" Gerard squealed as he jumped next to him on the couch. Frank let out a surprised gasp because of the younger's sudden apparition. He was so concentrated on his work that he hadn't even noticed the music had stopped and both boys had walked over to him.  
  
"Yeah, I guess so." The musician shrugged, doodling a flower in the upper right-hand corner of the page.  
  
"Wow, it's really good, Frank!" Gerard praised him after reading the lyrics, an excited grin plastered onto his face with his eyes turned into crescents.  
  
"Thanks." He softly smiled, feeling a slight blush creep onto his cheeks.  
  
"Looks like Frankie's found his muse, huh?" Ryan teased with a laugh, making Frank push his face into his paper in embarrassment. The blush on his cheeks just turned about four shades brighter.  
  
•••  
  
About an hour and a half and some take out later, Gerard went back home. Frank offered to drive him but the younger shrugged him off, saying that it wasn't really a long walk and it was best for them to keep everything low-key anyways. Even though Frank kept on offering, the black-haired boy insisted on going by foot alone. He was still at Ryan's house, just hanging out as they used to do.  
  
"So, what's your deal with Gerard?" Ryan asked out of the blue.  
  
"What do you mean, 'my deal'?" Frank nervously laughed as he let himself fall into the large couch.  
  
"I mean, what's going on between you two?" The brunette continued, and Frank internally cursed himself. How is he getting outed about this by everyone left, right, and center? Was he that obvious? "And don't lie to me! You don't think I notice you staring at his ass?" Frank choked on his own spit at the other's blunt words.  
  
"There's nothing going on, don't try to make something out of nothing, Ry." The other shrugged, as his friend sat down next to him.  
  
"Yeah, right." Ryan rolled his eyes with a mischievous smirk. "Keep on lying to yourself, buddy. Something's definitely going on between you two, I am certain of it."  
  
"As I said, there's nothing going on." The guitar player pressed on.  
  
"Alright, but you do want him, I can see it in your entire body language," Ryan commented. "And he wants you, too, by the way."  
  
"How would you know that?" Frank whispered with a blush, his throat too tight to properly speak.  
  
"How would I not?." He laughed. "You two are radiating sexual tension any time you're in the same room. Anyone could sense that."  
  
Frank coughed violently, too caught off guard by his friend's comments. How was he going to lie his way out of this?  
  
"Never mind, you don't have to talk about it. You come out when you feel like it, I guess. It just sucks that I owe Josh twenty dollars now." Ryan mumbled, making Frank snap out of his embarrassment.  
  
"You guys made a bet about me? What the hell, dude?" He exclaimed in disbelief, making the other shrug.  
  
"How about I get us some beers, huh?" He then suggested, making Frank nod despite the fact that he just ignored his question. He guessed beer could make him feel a little better after that.  
  
•••  
  
It ended up being a bit more than a beer after Ryan got a text from Josh telling him that he was on his way over with Tyler. Frank debated going home but was easily convinced after his friend showed him another text saying that they were bringing some more alcohol. The musician wasn't really a drinker or a partier at all, but he felt like he desperately needed some liquor in his system right now. A few beers and a couple of shots later, and he was completely drunk while sitting in his friend's living room. All four boys had probably drunk a little too much for their own good. They were all incredibly grateful that Ryan's parents were away on a business trip for a couple of days.  
  
"How have you never seen that movie? That movie's great!" Ryan complained to Tyler, a shocked expression dramatically plastered on his face.  
  
Frank tuned them out for a bit, his mind wandering to Gerard and his cute little smile. He missed him. Maybe he should've invited him over as well, but he didn't look like he'd enjoy being here, he didn't really seem like a person who had ever tasted any kind of alcohol in their entire life. He was too pure for any of that. Or maybe it was the fact that he'd probably get murdered by his parents. He took another sip of the beverage in his hand. He wasn't even really sure what it was, to be honest. It was probably a mix of multiple different alcohols and sodas Ryan had laying around. Tyler had put some liquids in there that he hadn't been able to identify. It tasted alright.  
  
"No, I was busy with Gerard that day." Ryan said, causing Frank to snap out of his thoughts at the mention of that particular name.  
  
"Why haven't I actually properly met that guy yet, by the way?" Tyler asked, before taking a swig from his beer.  
  
"Ask Frank, he's the one obsessed with him." Ryan pointed towards the guitarist, who frowned at the three other guys. "He's hoarding him all to himself."  
  
"First of all, I'm not obsessed!" He slurred in an attempt to defend himself. Why was he getting attacked yet again? "Second, you better not start again, Ry." Frank knew damn well what the other was planning on doing so he shot him a warning glare which probably didn't look that intimidating considering the state he was currently in.  
  
"Start what?" Josh asked, looking from one to the other in confusion.  
  
"Let's just say that I owe you those twenty dollars, Joshy." Ryan winked at him, making his eyes widen in surprise while Frank groaned in embarrassment and annoyance next to them.  
  
"No way!" Josh laughed, glancing at Frank for confirmation. "I thought you were dating a girl, though?"  
  
"I am. I'm dating Emma." Frank explained but only managed to confuse the couple even more. Even Ryan was kind of lost, to be honest. It got quiet for a few seconds before Ryan broke the silence as he always did.   
  
"But he likes her brother!" Ryan yelled out with a hysterical laugh.  
  
"Yeah, maybe I do!" Frank let out, flinging his arms around and almost knocking over the drinks on the table. Ryan instantly shut up after that, surprised the boy was actually admitting to it now. It was silent for a couple of seconds, the whole room filled with an incredibly thick tension.  
  
"You wanna talk about it, dude?" Josh gently asked him, figuring he might as well show some sort of support instead of quietly staring at him like he had just done.  
  
"I don't wanna talk, I just wanna go home now." Frank muttered as he stood up, losing his balance for a second. He made his way towards the front door as all three boys got up and followed him.  
  
"Frank, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel bad." Ryan apologized, regretting the direction in which he steered the conversation despite the fact that he had noticed the boy's discomfort the first time he had brought up the subject. He knew he should've shut up, but he only wanted to joke around. Maybe the alcohol made him misjudge the situation.  
  
"Yeah, it's alright." Frank dismissed him, clearly angry at everyone present in the room.  
  
"Frank, come on." He tried again, gripping the other boy's upper arm in an attempt to keep him here. "You're drunk, this is a bad idea."  
  
"I'll walk." He muttered again, pulling back his arm and freeing himself from his coworker's grip.  
  
He quickly opened the door and made his way outside before anyone was able to keep him in the house. He stumbled around for a bit, slowly running through the streets. His breath was heavy and burned as it made its way through his throat. Frank put his hand against the wall of a random house, leaning on it for support as he pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket. He fumbled with it, trying three times before getting his password right. He went to his messages and tapped on his conversation with Gerard.  
  
 **23:14 Frank:** "hey misss yoi"  
 **23:14 Frank:** "you"  
 **23:17 Gee:** "Are you alright?"  
 **23:18 Frank:** "not reely am drink"  
 **23:18 Gee:** "You're drunk?"  
 **23:18 Gee:** "Where are you?"  
 **23:19 Frank:** "street"  
 **23:19 Gee:** "Where? I'll come get you."  
  
Frank frowned as he looked around him, trying to make out where exactly he was. He recognized a few of the houses.  
  
 **23:22 Frank:** "idk"  
 **23:23 Gee:** "Never mind, I'm gonna call you."  
  
And instantly, the phone began to ring, causing Frank to push on the green box appearing on his screen and press the device to his ear.  
  
"Hello." Frank smiled.  
  
"Where are you?" Gerard whispered back, worry laced his voice.  
  
"Uhm..." He sighed, spinning around again. "Bakery!"  
  
"The bakery? I'll be right over, stay there, don't move!" Gerard ordered before hanging up. Frank took in a deep breath of air before sitting down on the cold, damp curb.  
  
•••  
  
Gerard showed up about five minutes later, worried out of his mind. He was incredibly out of breath from running all the way from his house, but he was just happy to see Frank safe. They slowly walked through the streets together, Gerard refusing to take his eyes off the older for even just a second. He was too afraid that he'd trip over his own feet and split open his skull on the sidewalk. He wasn't really in the mood for a midnight trip to the local hospital.  
  
When they finally reached Frank's house, the older couldn't find his keys in his own pockets, so Gerard had to be the one to fetch them out and open his front door. He carefully helped the guitar player up the stairs, trying his best to make as little noise as possible to not disturb Frank's mom. But that was a pretty hard task with a messy clumsy drunk Frank. They finally got to the older boy's bedroom where Gerard threw him onto the bed, starting to help him take off his shoes. He slipped them off his feet and put them on the ground near the door.  
  
"Get your jacket off, it's not comfy," Gerard whispered, trying to pull Frank up to get the piece of clothing off his body. The older groaned before sitting up and looking at him. "Come on." Frank slipped his arms out of the jacket and let it fall onto the floor before unbuckling his belt. Gerard's whole face instantly turned red. The older got rid of the accessory before messily trying to unbutton his pants. Unfortunately, his drunken state kept him from being able to do his task right, so he let out a frustrated groan.  
  
"I can't get this button!" He mumbled, dropping his hands to his sides in a sign of defeat.  
  
"Let me help you, then," Gerard suggested with a crimson shade decorating his cheeks.  
  
He hesitated for a bit, but when he saw that Frank wasn't ready to protest, he just went along with it. His hands reached for the older's jeans before he popped the button and pulled down the zipper. His fingers were trembling, he had never been this close to the older boy. Maybe it seemed ridiculous to others, but it was a pretty big deal to the singer.  
  
"Can you get it off yourself?" The younger asked. He didn't get a verbal reply as Frank immediately started to kick his legs in order to get rid of the trousers. "Perfect."  
  
He figured the older could just wear his shirt and boxers to bed, that would be fine. At least it would be better than his whole outfit from before. Boxers. Shit. Gerard couldn't help but blush again, the thought of having his crush so close, on a bed, in his boxers kind of made him nervous. Frank looked at him straight in the eyes, his look a little glazed over but still fixated. His mouth hung slightly agape, his lips wet from him licking them every so often. His hair was a mess, sticking into every possible direction. He looked hot.  
  
"I-I should probably go now." Gerard whispered, feeling like he shouldn't be here right now. Frank was hot and drunk, and he was a nervous mess. That sounded like an awful mix.  
  
"No, stay." Frank almost begged, holding onto the younger's hand. Gerard looked into his eyes and saw the pleading expression they had. He didn't have the heart to reject him.  
  
"A-alright, I'll stay." He murmured, shooting him a soft smile.  
  
"Yay." The older grinned with his warm smile. Gerard let go of him to get rid of his shoes as well before sliding into the bed with him. They laid down on the comfortable surface, staring at each other in silence. "Can I hold you?" Frank asked, making the other nod. The older boy inched closer to him and placed a gentle but sloppy kiss on his forehead. He felt the area heat up immediately. Gerard turned around, now facing the dark room, and felt Josh press into his back, wrapping his arms around him and burying his face in the crook of his neck. It felt like they were melting into each other. "I missed you." Frank whispered.  
  
"I missed you, too." Gerard grinned, kissing the top of his hand softly. "Goodnight, Frank."  
  
"Goodnight, baby." The older yawned as he nuzzled him. Gerard tensed up for a second, not sure if he heard that correctly. He tried to rationalize it, maybe the words weren't meant for him, maybe the boy was so drunk that he mistook him for Emma. Yeah, that was probably it. Still, there was a part of him that warmed up instantly at the mention of that pet name. He couldn't help that his heart fluttered and the butterflies in his stomach were going completely crazy. Baby... Frank could say that again.


	19. The Questioning

With a deep groan, Frank woke up in his bed, a bit confused about the events of the night before. His head was pounding quite a bit, so he roughly rubbed his face with his hands. When he opened his eyes and finally sat up, he noticed Gerard sitting at the desk, back turned towards him.   
  
Frank slowly got up, feeling the tightness and soreness in his muscles as he crept closer to the other boy. As he got closer, Frank noticed Gerard had his earphones in and didn't hear him wake up. Without thinking too much, Frank suddenly wrapped his arms around the younger boy, squeezing him into a hug from behind. At first, Gerard jumped a bit, too invested in the random video he was watching to pay attention to anything around him, but he quickly melted into the touch.   
  
"Goodmorning." Frank said with a rough voice before placing a soft kiss on the top of Gerard's head.  
  
"Hey," Gerard smiled as he spun the desk chair around. "Are you feeling any better?"  
  
"I'm fine, my head hurts just a bit." Frank explained, swiftly running a hand through his hair.   
  
"You seemed a bit distressed yesterday, wanna talk about what happened?" Gerard's eyebrows were worriedly knitted close together as he looked the older straight in the eyes and ripped his earphones out. Frank thought the boy's concern was awfully endearing.   
  
"My friends were being assholes, but don't worry about it." He replied with a dismissed gesture as he sat himself down on the edge of his bed.   
  
"But I think it's good if you talk to me about what happened." Frank wasn't really in the mood to dwell on what took place yesterday. His friends tried to joke around a bit but accidentally struck where it hurt. They didn't mean it, there was no reason to mention it anymore, especially not when it meant wasting his precious time with Gerard.  
  
So with a mischievous grin, Frank bent forward to close the distance that separated them and put his hands on the younger's thighs. Gerard inched away a bit, taken aback by the proximity, and blushed a deep red color. Frank let out a chuckle at the other's shyness and brought his head into Gerard's neck, where he gingerly started to place soft pecks. Gerard's cheeks turned an even brighter shade somehow as he nervously gripped the chair's armrests.   
  
"Are you sure you don't wanna tal-" Gerard started before Frank cut him off with a shush.  
  
Lifting his right hand from the black-haired boy's thigh, Frank decided to place it at the base of his neck, pulling him even closer. The younger boy managed to muster up some courage and grip onto Frank's shirt before letting his curious hands travel shyly over his body. The eldest moved his mouth from Gerard's neck towards his lips before connecting them together in a series of sloppy kisses. Without meaning to, Gerard let out a soft moan which made Frank feel weak at the knees.   
  
"Frank?" His mom yelled from downstairs. Frank jumped in his seat and quickly pulled back from Gerard as he heard his mom move up the stairs. With rapid breaths, the boys stared at each other wide-eyed, mouth hung slightly agape. "Hi, sweetie. Gerard told me you got a bit sick yesterday. How are you feeling now?"  
  
"Uhm, better." He mumbled after clearing his throat. He nervously looked at his mother and tried his best to seem natural, but could tell it wasn't that convincing.  
  
Mrs. Iero walked over to her son and put her palm over his forehead, checking up on his temperature.   
  
"You sure? You're a bit hot in the face." After nodding at his mom, Frank shot Gerard a warning glare as the corners of his mouth turned upwards at Mrs. Iero's words. She picked up on the secretive communication the boys were having a lifted her right brow. "What's are you two doing here?" She asked as she took a few steps back to be able to look at them better.  
  
Gerard nervously played with his fingers as Frank looked between the two people present in his room, trying to look innocent and confused about what she was asking.  
  
"Nothing, I actually just woke up." Frank lifted his shoulders as he kept peeking at Gerard in front of him. "We were about to head down." She audibly swallowed and bit her tongue after looking between the pair for a while.   
  
"Great, then." She cleared her throat and turned around. "I've made some waffles if you guys want any."  
  
•••  
  
As he waved Gerard goodbye and closed his front door, Frank felt his whole stomach twist nervously. He tried to quickly sneak back upstairs but his mom immediately called him into the living room. There she sat, arms folded seriously in her lap and she took a worried but stern look at her son who just entered the space. Frank dreaded what was about to happen, he had been confronted countless amount of times by everyone in his life these past few days, surely his mom wouldn't join in as well.   
  
"Sit." She pointed to the empty spot on the couch next to hers. Frank did as he was asked and quietly took a seat. "I wanna talk to you about Gerard."  
  
"What about him?" Frank quickly snapped back, immediately getting defensive which only made him look guiltier.   
  
"I know what's going on, Frank." She replied.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about." He shrugged, trying his best to convince her.   
  
"Oh, stop," She groaned, rubbing her temples in frustration. "You think I'm that gullible? At least you tried to look innocent, but that boy had guilty written all over his face. Do you think I couldn't notice his nerves, his whole posture? His whole face was red, Frank." Frank nervously started to chew on his bottom lip, knowing she wasn't even done talking yet. "Or his glistening, red lips that matched yours perfectly, huh?"  
  
"What are you implying?" Frank snapped a bit too quickly. "Because I don't know why you're angry at me."  
  
"I-" She sighed, closing her eyes and biting her tongue before she could explode. When she looked back at her son, she noticed the tears welling up in his eyes. "I'm not angry at you, Frank, I'm just disappointed."  
  
Somehow that hurt him even more. Anger was one thing, it's usually in the heat of the moment, but disappointment? Nah, that shit always stings.   
  
"How could you do that to poor Emma?" She groaned in desperation, burying her face in her hands for a second. "That's her fucking brother, Frank."  
  
"I know, I know." He mumbled, feeling the tears escape his eyes. Fuck. "But it's not as bad as it seems, mom."  
  
"How is this not awful?" She asked, completely bewildered.   
  
Frank took in a deep and heavy breath before wiping his eyes and looking his mom in hers. Here goes nothing. And so he explained the situation from the start, because what else did he have to lose now?


End file.
